


From Fiend to Friend

by HunterJamie



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Avengers (2012), Post-Iron Man 3, Slow Burn, Tags will be added as story moves along, Thor starts being a big brother again, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-03
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-28 19:05:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 73,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3866344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HunterJamie/pseuds/HunterJamie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life is getting back together after the events in New York with the Chitauri. However, when Loki is returned to Midgard without his powers and needing to finish his sentence there, The Avengers end up finding out there was more than meets the eye with the God of Lies. And when his worst fear comes true, they discover they were worried about the wrong person the entire time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

The two boys stood at the playground where they had met just a week before. The smaller was looking at the ground, hair in his face. He didn’t want to look up and meet the equally pained expression of the other boy. The clothes were not that interesting, but they were somewhat of a distraction as hands fidgeted with them. There was an oil stain at the bottom of the taller boy’s shirt. Nothing too important.

“Is there really no way to contact you? No way for us to communicate?” 

He looked up at the boy as he spoke. Dark hair, maybe a fraction of a shade lighter than his own. A bit of scruff indicating a beard was starting to grow in. Brown eyes staring into green. The expression was enough to show that he was upset, in pain, almost as though he had been betrayed. Of course, there had been no betrayal. 

The shorter boy let his hand fall from his sleeve, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. My father is strict. Being with you this week was dangerous as it was…” He let out a sigh, looking back as though looking for someone watching.

“Nothing? No way to just send a letter? Or call me? Hell, I wouldn’t mind you just moving in with me!” There was a feeling of desperation in the voice.

“I’m sorry…” The smaller shook his head and looked down. He didn’t want to go. Really, he hadn’t been this happy in a very long time; leaving just felt like he was leaving everything behind.

It was silent for a moment, the two of them just standing there. It was starting to drag on before finally, the one moved. The taller of the two stepped forward. His hand reached out to lift the others chin up to make it easier to do one thing.

The green eyes widened some as lips pressed against his own. This had not been something he expected… but it had not been something he rejected. He slowly closed his eyes to take the feeling in. This would be their last time together, and though it was painful, this small moment was worth it. The taller pulled away first, looking to make sure he didn’t upset the other too much by his actions. He was relieved to see the other wasn’t offended. “Maybe you can find me when I become big.” 

The smaller gave out a bit of a chuckle. “Maybe. Hopefully, I will recognize you since we never gave each other our names.” That had been a choice they made since they would only know each other a week. “I’ll see if I can meet with you then.” Of course, he knew he wouldn’t. There would be no way. “I have to go…” The small smile they had both wore faded as they hugged one another. They both could have shed tears in that moment, but they tried not to. The kiss had been bad enough. They couldn’t cause more pain.

And with that, they parted. One went back home to his parents and his engineering, the other… back home to Asgard.


	2. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, it is nice when a team moves in together, though not when they get an unwanted house-mate.

It was hard to believe that the Chitauri had only attacked one year ago. The city was still in repair, but mostly everything was cleaned up. The roads had been completely repaved, the alien remains removed, the buildings cleaned and fixed up. A few were still needing paint while others were still needing touch ups, but other than that it was almost as though the aliens had never been there. SHEILD had done what they needed to and now everything was in working order. 

The helicarrier had been repaired and was once again in the sky. The vehicle was now used as a telecommunication location for all the SHIELD bases to direct information to. If there was danger nearby, agents would be sent. It was not often that the agency would be called in, however. After all, the X-Men, as well as the group now called the Fantastic 4, were sometimes dealing with dangers. Of course, there were the few sightings of a flaming skeleton on a bike to help with some of the deeper stuff that even the other groups had issues with. Then there was Deadpool… most of SHIELD did not appreciate having to deal with that asinine. 

There were a few missions, however, that did need more than those groups and the agency. There were some missions that needed the Avengers. Thankfully those were far few and in between. That left a lot of them doing other things. Anthony Stark tended to just be in his workshop. With so much time on his hands, it was easy to see why there were so many Iron Man suits in cases. Each one had a purpose. One was actually designed to fight the Hulk while another Thor. Pepper Potts had warned Tony that the idea of making these suits was quite bad. She sadly only hit deaf ears. 

After New York, the relationship between Pepper and Tony had become strained. He had started to deal with his PTSD –for once making the decision to get help without being pressured- and had actually started to get better. Unfortunately, there was a fear deep inside of him, and his lover as well, that made them drift apart. They tried to make it work, they really did. In the end, the effort was pointless. They broke up.

It had been about six months since that day. Tony had actually started the conversation up. Pepper ended it. Now she lives in a normal house and still ran Stark Industries. Tony was left to his own devices. And no longer having Pepper around did cause a few problems.

It was because of him forgetting to eat or sleep that made Director Fury order everyone to move in together in the new tower the engineer had made. 

“Where can someone get a drink around here?” The blond man walked into the entrance of the building. His leather jacket had a patch on it, a shield representing who he was. Steve Rogers had complained a bit about the fact he had to change into his suit every time there was a meeting. It was quite a hassle and he felt uncomfortable in it. Besides that, he couldn’t be Captain America all the time. Best to have the man there, to make people remember he was still human. It was a nice change.

As he walked further in, a voice came in overhead. “Good Evening, Mr. Rogers. I understand your question was rhetoric, but it would be advised to get something to drink anyways. Mr. Stark could use some as well.”

The man shook his head. He had expected Jarvis to speak up. The voice was actually a comfort. He had met the man that it was based on. The fact Tony had programmed it so close to the actual butler was quite humorous. Hopefully, the sarcasm would keep up as well. “Right. Where is his work space?” Steve started to walk towards the stairs. There was a hunch the AI would say down a level or two.

“Just take the stairs down. Hard to miss the grinding noise.” Steve chuckled as he walked down.

In the workshop, Tony was working on yet another suit. This one was being made for deep sea diving. It was unknown just yet if the system being used would work to keep pressure off the body, but the man was sure it would help. There was only one way to find out. He would just have to make a test run just like he did with the Mark II. Hopefully, it would go just as smoothly.

“You know, you have been down here for a while. Even your AI wanted me to take care of you.” The blond walked in, looking around a bit as he saw the fact Tony had rebuilt a lot of his suits. After destroying all the other suits, the Captain just could not figure out why the man would create new ones. Sure, the new Ark Reactor made sense; it was explained this one helped prevent heart attacks, as well as an aid if he had another panic attack, now that it was no longer needed to keep shrapnel out of the heart. Steve liked this idea. It was a product that could really help people with heart conditions. 

Tony barely looked up before focusing back on the task at hand. “Hey, Stripes. Wasn’t expecting you for another week.” He didn’t sound very surprised. Not that he cared either. Best everyone is there when they can rather than a scheduled time. This made it easier for the engineer to adjust to actually having people there other than Pepper. 

The blond just watched the smaller man as he busied himself with the work at hand. The repulsors were giving a few issues for some reason, by the looks of it. Tony was focusing a lot on those. With how the helmet was designed, even a person who is not a genius could figure out that this design was for underwater sea exploration. Who knows? Maybe more of the ocean floor would be explored because of Stark doing the search rather than someone else. Oceanologists are good, but sometimes they need someone else to do the search for them.

“I would have come on time, but I figured getting settled in now would make less a mess.” Steve sat down on one of the stools in there as he watched Tony work. “Though I have to say… I think Bruce might be coming today too. He said that since he is pretty much moved in that there is no point in him staying out for the one more week.” He leaned back a bit, smiling when he saw a smirk on his teammates

Tony stood up and set his tools down. It was best to take a break at that moment since people would be coming in. Not to mention, this would be a good time for the two to talk. After everything, the two ended up doing some self-discovery and acceptance for Steve. It was quite interesting to say the least. He walked over to a fridge that was in the room, getting two bottles of water out for the both of them.

“So, Cap… Found anyone you would like to meet up with yet?” The engineer sat down again as he handed the one bottle to the other man. 

Steve lowered his head some, shaking it. “I know you are pointing more towards a man in that sentence. The answer is no. I would like you and Natasha to back off a little on my dating life if you don’t mind.” He paused for a moment. “However… there is a nice young lady who lives next to me. I might ask her out for coffee.” He leaned back a bit. 

Finding out that bisexuality was acceptable was actually a relief to the soldier though it still took a bit for him to accept it himself. Tony had actually helped a lot with that, going out to different events; going to a Pride parade helped some. It was during the parade that Steve discovered that his ally was actually not even straight himself when he brought a man to the hotel room; the billionaire just preferred to have women in his bed. Preferences were acceptable just as much as not having a preference. It was nice to have someone to understand stuff like that at least.

Tony raised a brow a bit. “A lovely lady next door? Well, not the best way to know a love interest. A bit cliché.” He stopped there because of the look the blond was giving him. “So what is this woman’s name?”

That was a bit more like a conversation Steve preferred. “Kate. She is a nurse.” He was pleased by the approving nod that the other gave. “Her shift sometimes alters depending on where they need her, but most of the time she just takes care of patients, making sure they have clean sheets and all.” He took a sip from his water bottle.

They sat there and talked about that for a bit, and sometimes the best ways to ask her out; Steve disapproved most of what Tony suggested. It was about three hours later that Jarvis spoke up again to announce that Bruce had in fact arrived that day and entered the Avengers tower. That was someone they –well Tony- didn’t want to keep waiting. They got up and headed up the steps, seeing a more relaxed man standing in the room. 

Bruce Banner, a scientist who loved helping people. It was such a shame he always felt on edge because of the other guy. However, at that moment, the smaller man seemed at ease being in that place. Nothing there could set him off and there really was no threat of a ‘Code: Green’ as they called it. It was nice to see the man so relaxed.

“Hey, Bruce. Been doing alright?” Steve walked forward to shake the man’s hand with a smile on his lips. 

Bruce nodded a bit and looked around, liking the space. Even the stairs were large. Tony took into account of an accident though there really was no hope for the place if that happened. “Just helped a hospital figure out what their problem was. Had a bit of a TB situation. They never had the problem before and one of the tourists brought it.” 

Tony hissed a bit. “Tuberculosis is never fun; especially when you don’t know how to treat it. Where were you?” He patted the man on the shoulder, not too worried about much.

“Mid part of Mexico. I would rather not get too much into detail. Right now I think I would like a moment to relax and not have to worry about anyone getting sick.” Bruce headed into the snack bar that the engineer had set up for anyone just entering the building from the front door. It was a nice greeting. He grabbed a bottle of orange juice and then sat at the table. This, this was nice.

The three talked the rest of the day through, just enjoying each other’s company. Steve actually wasn’t going to be living there like everyone thought he would. He did like living in his apartment in Washington D.C. He more just wanted to visit a bit with the rest of his team. After that, he was heading back. After all, he still needed to figure out how to ask Kate out.

Once it got late, the three went to their rooms. Thankfully Jarvis was willing to help Steve and Bruce find where they would be staying; Tony went back to the labs to finish the repulsors. There he stayed, only to pass out a little bit later.

\---

After a week of just the three roaming the tower, Natasha and Clint arrived, together interestingly enough. They were really good friends, but by what they heard, the two had been on separate missions. Coming in together seemed a bit odd. However, no one made a comment about it. After all, they had their reasons for coming in together. No point in asking questions about that. The team greeted them but didn’t do much else since the assassins wanted nothing more than to set their rooms up and get some rest. They didn’t get much while they were out. 

When evening came, that was when the five were able to sit down and talk. Tony actually ordered some pizza for everyone that was there. Somehow, though, it was everyone’s favorites; he had a pepperoni for himself and a four cheese for Natasha. Steve and Bruce were complete opposites with the soldier liking meat lovers and the doctor preferring a veggie pizza. And finally, Tony somehow found out that Clint liked a Hawaiian pizza with anchovies on it. Everyone could guess that Jarvis looked into something to figure out what they all liked. There was no way that the playboy could just know it. No one complained too much, though.

Steve did, however, say a few words, like how it was the invasion of their privacy. Tony just assured him he just wanted to know their pizzas and was quite disturbed by the choice the archer had. Other than that, all the team did was talk and bicker a bit. But they were having quite the time other than that. 

Steve had just finished his second pizza when the lights flickered a bit. Tony, who had designed the entire place, knew for a fact that the electricity was perfectly fine so there should not have been any issues with it. He pulled his phone out, messing a bit with it. “Hey, Jarvis…”

The man didn’t even need to get anything else out and the AI knew exactly what was wanted. “There was an electrical surge in the air around the top of the tower. I would also like to note that the sky is showing signs of activity, similar to when any of the Asgardians came here through the Bi-frost.”

This little tidbit of information made everyone stand up. If one of Asgard was coming down –more than anything they could bet it was Thor- something had to be up. They all went to the elevator, knowing it was much quicker than trying to fly up the stairs. Bruce remained in the front near the door. With the fact they had no idea why any of the Gods would be there, he was a bit on edge. Was there trouble, were they needed to be called for something? Anything was possible and the five could only think of the worst things to happen. 

The elevator quickly rose up. Steve made a mental note that the speed was a bit faster than the ones at the SHIELD headquarters. It may have been the urgency that made Jarvis quicken the transport. However, he gasped with the rest of the group as a sudden electrical surge went through the building again. This time was not a little flicker of light; the elevator shook as the electricity went out for a second. When the lights came back on, Clint was leaning on Steve since they both lost their balance. Natasha was leaning on the wall, her hand on Bruce to keep him steady; Tony was on his other side doing the same. The way their posture were made it obvious they were just looking out for their tense friend, they were not worried about Hulk. 

“Everyone okay?” Tony looked back at everyone, shaken some as the elevator continued up. His thoughts were thankful that he put emergency brakes on the cables in case the elevator had issues. Didn’t matter if there was power or not. He was also grateful to see everyone nodding that they were not hurt. They seemed shaken like he was. Maybe the elevator had not been the best of ideas after all.

“Thor is on the top of the tower, sir. You may need to clean the metal off from some scorch marks.” The humor helped ease the tension at least. The elevator stopped when it was at the top, everyone but Bruce and Tony getting their composure back. It wasn’t until they were on solid ground again that the two men managed to calm down. 

In front of them stood Thor, the God of Thunder himself. On his side was his faithful hammer, Mjolnir. Other than that, he did not seem prepared for battle. He wore his royal armor though no cape and his arms were bare of any metal. It seemed he was there for other means. His smile that he wore seemed strained. “My friends. It is good to see you again though it may not seem so soon.” He stepped forwards towards them. He seemed to be just standing outside the burned Celtic image on the ground.

Steve moved to the front. “Good to see you too. But I doubted this was a friendly visit.” As much as the team gets along, something had to be up. As far as they knew, the only time Asgard was there was because of trouble. At least, that is what it seemed like the last time the son of Odin came there. 

“I wish this was friendly, Captain. But, unfortunately… I bring grave word from my father than none of you shall be pleased with.” He looked off to the side, unsure as of what to say.

Bruce spoke up, quietly, but everyone heard him anyways. “I am afraid to ask what that would be…” 

Thor sighed a bit. “It is of Loki.” This made a sense of dread fall over everyone’s shoulders. “His judgment as been called and to be dealt with. His power was stripped of him and is more or less no threat in that manner. However… Father has one more thing he wishes to be done and that is what I fear.” He swallowed hard. 

Before he could speak anymore, the light that had been missed the first time, while everyone was in the elevator, landed in the same spot. Even Thor stepped forward and turned to see who was there. Of course, he knew, but it was still a shock since he had not called to Heimdall yet. Odin must have become impatient. Once the light disappeared, he had to stand his ground, hoping that the others did not react the way he feared. 

A man was standing in the middle of the circle, a bit unbalanced from more than likely being pushed into the Bi-frost. He wore a coat of green and black and his hair was longer than the last time they had seen him. His skin also seemed paler. Thankfully, shackles were placed onto his wrist preventing them from going anywhere, though it almost seemed to have frost forming on the edges. Even though his head was lowered, the Avengers could easily see that there was a metal gag against his mouth, making him silent. 

“I am sorry my friends… But Odin has ordered that Loki be imprisoned here.” With his name being said, the smaller God looked up, his green eyes burning with rage more ferocious than the last time they saw him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I would like to mention now that this is a slow moving romance. It will take a few chapters before any actual romance or sexual connection is done. So if you are wanting something quick, I am sorry, but you will not find that here.
> 
> I would also like to mention that this story stops at Iron Man 3. Thor: The Dark World will not be coming into play at all in this story. Same with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. So if you want Sam and Bucky... I am sorry. This story was originally made before those. And even though in the Cinematic Universe X-men is in Earth-10005 and Avengers is Earth-199999, I will be putting the two together, because seriously, I like the idea of the universes being together.
> 
> Also, Tony is Pansexual, Steve is Bisexual. Pass it on.


	3. The Imprisonment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one is happy about Loki being there, but a fun invention makes Tony happy since he can use it. And no one notices Steve's concern.

There was a heavy silence surrounding the group. No one spoke, and if it wasn’t for the fact everyone knew better, it would have been thought that no one was breathing. The only thing that could be heard was the wind blowing hard because of their altitude. The only one who moved was the criminal, who stood up a bit straighter. However, that was the only movement for a minute or two.

Finally, Clint spoke up with a growl. “He is to be imprisoned here? Or do we actually get the choice of execution?” Obviously after having his mind taken over, he was still not exactly happy with the God. He glared even more when it almost seemed like Loki was smiling under the mask. Just the way his eyes narrowed just a fraction looked like he was grinning at the archer.

“I’m sorry. But my Father made it clear that he wishes Loki to remain alive. For what cause I have not yet understood. However, I cannot disobey his order.” Thor turned to look at the angered Avengers. Oh yes, this was the thing he feared. He really did not want to put his friends through the torment of having to keep the one who nearly annihilated their home so close to them. He may have lost all understanding for his adopted brother as well as the care that he had felt as a child, but he had no choice but to protect the trickster from those that wanted him dead. It was quite a challenge that he had no choice but to partake in.

Tony groaned a bit but rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Alright… well, it is a good thing I made a place we could actually hold him for now.” Everyone turned to him, confused. “You saw how my stairs continued passed the one set of labs, right Stevo?” He looked up at the only person in the team who had actually gone into there. Bruce had only been in the upper levels. It was a curiosity as of why there was, in fact, a workspace in a basement. “Come on. And bring Alice in Chains with.” He started to walk towards the elevator again.

Clint and Natasha looked at each other, almost having an instant silent agreement on what to do. In unison, they said “I’ll take the stairs,” before heading to the stairway. Bruce just followed, not really wanting to say much as he went. Just knowing Loki was there was not making him happy. The other guy really wanted to pound him again.

Tony just shrugged a bit as he walked to the opened door. Steve, wanting to keep an eye on the ‘prisoner’, entered soon after. Thor pulled on the shackles that held the trickster and forced the being in with the other two. The ride was quiet though the temperature seemed to drop. At first, Tony was about to ask, but then he looked down at the shackles, seeing the ice. “So… Thought you said his powers were removed, Thor.” He looked up to the golden haired God.

Thor shook his head. “I did. However, that did not include his true lineage. He is still of the Jotun and they are of ice.” He kept his eyes forward. “He is still harmless. He has never learned to control what is in his blood and I do not plan on letting him start. Otherwise, I think he would be best placed in Jotunheim with the rest of his blood.” 

Steve looked over at Loki as the chains shook just a little. His hands had been closed into loose fists, but now they were clenching tightly. It was also a little obvious that the being was tight in the shoulders now. Something about Jotunheim really must have unnerved him. He would have to ask about it later. Now was not the time.

“So he can freeze things?” Tony poked at the shackles, pulling away at the sudden cold. It wouldn’t be so bad, except it almost felt like the ice was trying to go to zero Kelvin or something. It was really freaking cold!

Thor sighed some. “For now, it is beyond his control. Apparently his powers unknowingly were keeping the ice back. His physical temperature did lower once he killed Laufey, but that was it. Now there is nothing to hold back what he is. We would see his true self if not for the glamor that father put on him.”

Steve had yet to take his eyes off of the other. He watched the reaction that each sentence of the older caused. When it was mentioned of his kill, his head lowered, as though in shame or something. But what was interesting was the way he looked away when his ‘true self’ had been stated about. His clenched fingers went loose, as though feeling dispirited. It was… strange to see this criminal have such a look after having such fury in his eyes. 

“That could also explain why the temperature in the elevator has dropped so suddenly.” The sudden voice of Jarvis made everyone jump. Not even Tony expected to hear the AI talk up. He looked at his phone, reading that the air had gone from a comfortable eighty degrees to under seventy-five. It was also still dropping. 

Tony stared a moment, humming. “Well, that shouldn’t be a problem with where you will be.” He smiled some as he put the phone down. He looked at what floor they were on and was happy to see they were almost to the bottom. Just a few more floors…

He blinked as he heard a mumbling next to him. The genius looked over to the shackled God, who was now looking at Thor. 

The older being shook his head a bit. “I told you Loki: I am not going to take that off of you. Not until it is safe and I know you will not be a threat to my friends.” Thor didn’t even look at the dark haired one. He didn’t need to. He had dealt with the fact this being wanted to speak up. Of course, being the Lie-Smith, there was no way that gag was coming off.

Loki sighed a bit, and then looked off to the side. It was hard to tell if he was making plans or not. It wasn’t like there was much he could do in that moment.

After another minute, the elevator finally stopped. Heat flooded into the room as the elevator doors opened. The prisoner shuttered a bit before the four finally stepped out into the warmer halls. Even though it seemed the one was uncomfortable, the others were quite happy to be in the adjustment. The temperature had gotten to less than seventy degrees. It was a relief to be in the warmth again. 

Thor was rough as he pulled the other forward, following Tony towards to stairs. Steve was a bit confused as they walked down. He watched as they passed the workshop, going even deeper into the building. It was actually quite a bit passed the first door before the soldier saw an opening. The air seemed chilled even though there were no vents for air conditioning. However, there was a very large container in the room, similar to the one in the helicarrier. Steve was not comfortable with this. He did observe tubes on the top of the thing, but that didn’t help his unease.

Loki snorted some, noticing how easy it would be to get out of this prison. It was glass, and it did not seem like it was going to fall. There was not even a control panel. How was this supposed to be a threat to him? All he had to do was smash the glass and then he could just walk out and continue his carnage. He wouldn’t even have anything causing issues if he could plan everything right. Not even the Avengers would be a problem if he hid well enough. 

Steve and Thor looked at Tony as he walked forward. “So, who would like to see this thing from the inside?” He grinned a bit as the door opened on its own. “I don’t mind explaining now and repeating again for the other three, so let’s get started.” The man almost looked like a kid in a candy shop. 

Thor glanced at his fellow Avenger right beside him before moving forward. Of course, this made it that the other God had to walk as well. They walked into the chamber. Thor, of course, recognized the inside far too well. Last he had been in one, Loki pressed a button and he went flying. If it wasn’t for the cracks, he could have been far more hurt than he had been. It was terrifying to think what this prison did. He looked around to find any indication, but there was nothing to give a hint. The only thing he could notice was the lack of seating. Really, there was nowhere to sit except on the ground.

Tony looked at the small group. “Now, this place was obviously designed after the horrendous choice that SHIELD decided to use. I wanted to improve it and I did.” If it was possible to grin even more, he proved it was. “Obviously there is no control panel. That was made so that no baddies-“ he looked at Loki when he said that, “-can use it and hurt the good guys. Everything in here is run by Jarvis. Say hello, Jarvis.”

“I hardly doubt that is necessary.” Steve managed a bit of a smirk as he looked around. Once again, there were no signs of speakers, and yet they heard the AI as clear as day. 

Tony started for the door, patting Thor on the shoulder. “Leave Frosty in here. You don’t want to be in this thing when I start her up.” He had a nasty look in his eyes. Thor was unsure if he liked it.

Either way, he followed the man out, leaving Loki in there as he had been told to do. Steve followed close behind him. As they left, the door once again closed and left the war criminal trapped inside. Thor looked at the glass, not liking the fact there was a possibility of it breaking. Really, the material was not that strong. No matter what it was, anyone from Asgard would be able to break through and just walk out. So why was the engineer so cocky about the design? What was so different about this prison than the last one that failed to keep this being locked away? 

“Now, I will say this; this thing was not designed for the Hulk like the last one.” Tony looked a bit sheepish. “I like Bruce and I didn’t want to make him feel like we had to corner him whenever there was a threat. This thing was designed to keep people in for a long time. Not a short amount of time. And let’s face it; Hulk would break through that glass like it was melted butter.” He chuckled a bit.

And thankfully not a moment later they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Oh goodie, the rest of them were there. This, of course, meant that there was really no repeating of anything. Really, it was the simple stuff and that was just boring. Shame.

Bruce looked uneasy when he saw the device. Understandable. It looked like the thing meant for him, which of course Tony just explained this one was not for him. Great, he was repeating himself in his head already.

“Don’t worry. Not for Hulk or you. Just guys like these.” Tony smiled a bit and looked at the prison. “Controlled by Jarvis, yada, yada, yada. Not made like the other, yada, yada. Moving on now.” He moved to lean on the wall since there were no seats in there. He grinned again. “Okay. Anyways! This thing is designed so that if anyone inside shows signs that they are trying to break out… Well...” He was starting to use a sing-song voice. It was odd for him, but hey, he was showing off. “Jarvis, activate it if you don’t mind. Might be good for Loki as well.” 

At first, the room was silent. Natasha raised a brow in confusion and was about to ask if something was wrong when what sounded like a large air conditioner filled the room. Loki blinked in surprise as he looked up. Dark strands of his hair seemed to be moving about his head. Since there was no air movement outside of the chamber, it took a moment for everyone to realize what was happening. Of course by the time it got through their heads, Loki was suddenly looking pale and quite dizzy. He reached up to try and grab his throat as though trying to breathe and being unable to. The shackles prevented him from doing much. After a moment, the trickster hit the ground. He didn’t move. After a second or two, the sound stopped and everyone was left in silence once more.

Thor had to close his mouth before it finally dawned on him what just happened. Loki was breathing, he could see that. So there was no fear of him dying. But the fact remained that he was now on the ground unconscious. “What did you do…?” He couldn’t help but stare.

Tony was still grinning. He moved to be in front of the machine once more. As though he was showing off one of his missiles, or just introducing himself, he rose his arms up. “This, my friend, is my creation for prisoners that really just need to stay put.” He let his arms drop. “When it is ordered or someone inside is trying to escape, Jarvis activates the mechanism in the top to suck all the air out. This, of course, leaves a vacuum in which no one can breathe until they pass out. Once Jarvis reads that they are in fact unconscious, he turns the mechanism off.” It seemed so simple, and yet it was complex. 

The design was simply to keep people in, as Tony said. And unlike the other imprisonment, it was not designed to kill, just incapacitate. And because Jarvis controlled everything, no one could activate it when it was not supposed to be or let Loki out. It was scary, but also genius. 

Clint walked forward toward the door. It did not open like the last time. “So, what if someone wanted to talk to him?” There was a hint in his voice that he wasn’t really thinking about having a ‘talk’ with the mad man. It seemed more like he was interested in something else entirely.

Of course, Tony caught on. “No one is allowed in there. So I made speakers. If he was awake, he would be able to hear us right now talking.” He paused a moment. “However, I think Thor can go in there real quick to get those shackles off. As much as we don’t like him, I don’t think Odin would be happy if we let him starve to death. Might be bad for the whole punishment thing.” He smirked some as he saw the glare from both assassins. 

Thor sighed a bit and went to the door. After a moment, the contraption opened. There was a sudden chill in the chamber. It might have been caused by Loki, but he wasn’t going to ask anything. For now he just had to worry about getting the mask off. He knelt down next to the unconscious form. Loki made no signs of movements as the older reached back to unhook the mechanism from behind his jaw. As the metal was pulled away, a red line was visible on the edges of the younger God’s lips. Odin must have put it on quite tightly this time. Thor had to admit, this contraption was a bit crueler than Lorelei’s collar. A least the collar was made to silence her. Loki’s mask causes pain. 

Loki groaned a bit, taking everyone by surprise. Thor carefully got the shackles off before leaving the prison. Once the doors were shut once more, the Avengers turned to look at the being on the floor. He still didn’t move. Well, it was a good thing he was still out. They didn’t have to deal with him yet.

Tony clapped his hands together, smiling. “How about we go get a bite to eat, huh?” He looked around at the group, who were now a bit tense. They really had not expected something like that from Tony. 

It took a moment, but finally Steve nodded. Food sounded alright in this moment. It would get everyone’s minds off from all this for the time being. A normal visit for a time would be nice before anyone had to worry about the fact they had a crazy madman who tried to kill them not that long ago in their basement. 

As the group left, Steve remained for a little bit, staring at the prison. Loki had yet to awaken so the Captain had time to think to himself. When they first encountered him the God never showed any signs of having emotions other than a sadistic pleasure as well as rage. While in the elevator, he could have sworn there was something more to Loki. Now that he thought about it… Did they really know anything about the God of Mischief? He remembered talking about how Loki was adopted. But there wasn’t much else. All the group knew was that there had been a threat and it needed to be taken care of. And that threat had been a man wanting to rule. It was only moments ago that two of the Avengers actually learned where the Trickster came from. Other than that… Steve actually didn’t feel right anymore about not knowing anything about the imprisoned man. 

With Red Skull, there was no denying what he was. He was a man who was enhanced by a super serum. Of course, the deepest part of him was made a lot more prominent. If not for that, he might have been mistaken for a person that was misled. But Loki? There is none of that. He had no serum. He just made a choice. Steve was a bit curious as of why he made that choice. Was it just because he was a prince? Or was there something more?

Steve couldn’t brew on these thoughts much longer. Everyone would wonder where he was. Best that he gets going now before anyone gets worried. He turned to head up the stairs. He was on the third step when he heard some more groaning from the chamber and something shifting. Loki must finally be waking up. The man didn’t wait too much longer to be seen. Maybe later he would come back down and talk to the Trickster. Sure, the idea was stupid as hell, but sometimes doing stupid as hell things did some good. He wouldn’t be there if he didn’t decide to be stupid and join the army.

Once he got up to the top, Tony looked over, giving a confused look. “Hey, Ice-Cape. Took you long enough.” He walked over and handed the man a water bottle. Everyone else was out at the moment by the looks of it.

“Yeah. Was just looking at the creation you have. With the maniac in there, I want to make sure he will stay in.” He didn’t like lying too much to his team. Lying meant mistrust and that can cause a lot of issues. A fight started from that after all. However, Steve really didn’t want anyone knowing his concerns. 

Of course by the look the engineer was giving the soldier, he didn’t believe him. He dropped it, though. “Well. We better catch up to the others. They went to go and get some Shawarma.” He grinned and turned towards the door. “My treat, of course, so best we get there soon.” 

Steve just rolled his eyes some and started to follow the billionaire. Maybe he would be able to talk to Loki later. The guy must be hungry after all and they would have to feed him.


	4. Bit of a Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve just can't drop what he saw in the elevator. So he tries to talk to Loki.

Loki was sitting in the middle of the prison when everyone got back. At least, that is what the AI had said; “Everyone has returned. Is there anything you need at the moment?” The God didn’t respond. Truly, he cared not of that place and what they could give him. All he wanted was out. Odin had underestimated him once more. There was still a lot of harm that could be done. No prison could stop him forever. Time was needed. Unlike the humans, he had plenty of time. All he had to do was master these powers of his. The other Jotun could easily make weapons of ice out of nothing. They were in warmer climates and still had blades. Loki just needed to figure out the ways of his own bloodline. This shouldn’t be too hard. It would be just like his own magic.

Of course, there was one thing that was a problem: Jarvis. Loki did not try to do anything for fear the AI would activate the mechanism that had taken his breath away earlier. There was no way to do something without being watched. He would have to think very carefully on how to work around the one constantly watching. He had already located the four cameras, or rather the easily seen ones. They were set up quite nicely so that nothing was missed. 

It mattered not. The God would figure something out. He always did. Well… almost always. 

He closed his eyes, not wanting to think of those memories. They still plagued him and he did not want to have them resurface. He might not be able to handle it. So instead, he continued to try and figure out what could be done for the time.

It was only minutes later that his thoughts were disturbed. The sound of footsteps were echoing down the stairwell. The steps must have been Anthony Stark heading to his workshop no doubt. These were meaningless to his mind and Loki tried to tune them out. However, the steps did not stop and they grew louder. Someone was actually going down to him. Maybe it was Barton then. The man did have a problem after being brainwashed. Maybe even Romanoff to get back at him for what he did. Either one of them sounded quite reasonable. Of course, whatever they planned would not work. Getting through the door would be difficult. 

It was not either of these two. Loki glanced up and stared as he heard the footsteps stop in front of the door. It was the Captain. This took the God of guard a moment. Him? He had no reason to be there. It wasn’t like when he was in the prison on the Helicarrier. No information was needed. So why was he suddenly showing up?

Rogers stared at the other a moment before an opening was revealed just next to the door. It went into the ground. This surprised Loki until a bag was slid into the chamber and then the opening closed. Oh, so it was to give him things. And by the smell that suddenly drifted into the room, it was food. He was being fed, alright. He would just wait for the human to leave. Something about not eating in front of his captors seemed to irritate them.

The man wasn’t leaving. Loki stared, confused. Finally, he spoke up. “Is there something wrong?” His tone pretty much said he didn’t care much. All he was wondering was why this man was not leaving him be.

What came out took the God off guard completely. “I would like to know what happened to you.” It was hard not to stare. Since when did they care? Loki narrowed his eyes a bit, suspicious. So was the food meant to try and gain trust then? It wasn’t going to work. He would never trust the Avengers. They couldn’t give him a reason too.

The soldier seemed to realize this. He sighed a bit and looked off to the side. The mannerism he was getting was not that of an interrogator. Loki watched, trying to read what was going on with the other. This mannerism was not a serious person trying to get information. This was a man trying the best way to approach something. 

“I don’t know much about you, alright… You’re crazy; you tried to take over two different worlds; you killed hundreds; you are not Thor’s brother by blood.” Rogers frowned a bit. “That is it, though. It sounds as though you and he were close for a long time. But what caused it to fall apart? Why did you suddenly decide to turn on everyone? What happened to you?” He looked at Loki, who was now looking at the ground.

The God was quiet. He was thinking on these questions. These things were quite pointless to ask. His past was notof any importance and it would go to waste as it was. There was no need for him to answer this. He left the human with silence seeing no reason to say anything. 

After a moment Steve left. Once the footsteps were no longer heard, Loki stood up and went to get the meal… It wasn’t too bad actually…  
\-----  
Later into the evening, the soldier returned again, a plate in his grasp. So another meal? It was a sandwich this time stacked with meat. “Thor said you guys mostly were carnivorous. Thought it best not change too much.” Once again, that opening was revealed and the paper plate slid through. As like last time, Rogers stood there at the door.

Loki didn’t move, speak, or left any indication that he was paying attention. He was just going to ignore him this time. No point in starting something that would lead to another moment of silence.

Rogers stared a little bit before he spoke once more. “Tony gave us all rooms. Somehow he based them on us a bit. Even has an old record player from the early 1900s in mine.” Loki tried to not furrow his brows. This was… Why was he being told this? “Thor actually said that he had different kinds of Ale and Mead in his room. Tony wants him to try them and see what they are like compared to yours. Even set up a perch in Clint’s room so he could have a high place at all times. Bruce has a freaking library. I actually saw that one.”

Loki finally looked up at the other, confusion on his features. “Why would I want to know this…?” This felt like the man was trying to have a casual conversation with him. 

“You are stuck in here. How long… I don’t know. Just thought you would like to hear about things.” He scratched the back of his head. “I bet seeing nothing but a rock wall will get boring after a while.” 

Loki stared a moment. After a while, Rogers left once more. The God was left in a state of bewilderment.  
\-----  
This actually became a norm. Rogers came down for to give meals, three times a day. He said that he was only going to stay a week but then changed it to a month. He would give the God something to eat, and then just talk. Loki learned a lot more than he thought he would.

“You know, when I was in Brooklyn, I use to try to beat up these bullies. Always got bloodied up myself.” “I visit Peggy at least once a month. She always forgets though.” “There is this nice café near my apartment. Coffee is amazing. Might bring you a bit.” “Bruce actually stayed over at my place this one time to see how the area was, and it did not turn out that well.” 

It just went on. Every day Rogers would come in and tell him about stuff. It didn’t matter if it was that day’s events –“Natasha actually bakes. I just caught her in the kitchen baking a cake to take up her time,”- to pretty much anything else. It was confusing how easily it was for this man to talk about anything. He never asked anything about what happened again; he just talked about his life.

After three days, he actually came in with a book for the being to read. It was on Norse mythology, on what they thought of the Gods. “It is for a good laugh.” There was also a notebook to write down what is wrong. Rogers never asked for the correct story; He just asked to figure out what was wrong. There were a lot of stories that were incorrect, but it didn’t matter much. Loki still read the book. It was a quick read so by the time dinner was done the book was closed. Nothing was written in the notebook however.

The soldier was a bit disappointed by that. He was about to leave when, for once, Loki spoke up. “I wasn’t heartless to my wife.” Rogers stopped and turned to the chamber again, surprised. “I only cheated on her with the one giant. We couldn’t have children together. When she met the three, she did not care they were with another woman. She cared that they were children and that she could raise them if she chose to.” 

Rogers stared a moment and then smiled. He finally got Loki to talk about something. Even with the fact it wasn’t what he wanted, it was obviously an achievement and he was happy to take it. “So your wife wasn’t mad? Because you gave her children?” The God nodded his head some, looking down. It was about then that the soldier frowned. “I bet Odin still banished them all, though…” He didn’t get a response. He took it as an answer and left again for the day.  
\-----  
The next day was some of the same as before the book was brought in. There was one slight change, though. Loki made a request for larger amounts of food. He still ate quite a bit. Even though Rogers was giving him a good amount as it was, he still needed a bit more. When lunch time came, the soldier actually didn’t turn away from the small thing. The meal was fast food, but more than what he normally got. Rogers didn’t even wait this time to start talking.

Loki was also starting to listen. The stories were interesting at times. This one was about the first meeting with someone named James Barns, Bucky being a nickname. A bully was involved and the taller boy had come in to save the day. It reminded the God of when he was a child and Thor did the same.

“Did you two have a fallout?” Loki looked at the man, smiling lightly. He actually asked a question about the other. Being quiet didn’t seem so intriguing now.

This caused the blond to grin though it saddened after a moment. “No. We were best friends until the end… He fell off a train while we were taking downsome men that belonged to Hydra. We were pretty high up, and he was only human.” He looked down the smile lost now.

The God nodded and stood, moving to get the bag. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” He was sincere in that apology. It had been a long time since he actually meant anything like that. It was a strange feeling to have.

“It is fine. It happened a long time ago.” And with a saddened smile, Steve left.  
\-----  
When dinner came, it was Stark who brought it down, saying that the Captain had left for a moment. He must have still been upset over talking about Mr. Barnes. Loki did not exactly like that the blond did not come back. For some reason, his presence in the few days has been enjoyable. It was odd to like company again. 

Stark was not exactly in the talkative mood. Once the meal was delivered, he left the God completely alone. It seemed like it was going to be a long day that time. And it really was. For one the meal was pretty cold. For another, the silence made the time there seem to freeze. He deserved it. No point in starting to enjoy something when it is always dashed away. 

Once Loki ate he moved to the back of the chamber and lay down. He felt that night was going to be quite long. All he was left with was the thought that he would be left there as he originally thought.

Surprisingly, he had been woken up the next morning with a knock on the glass. He groaned some, but he sat up at least to see who was there. It was Steve. He had come back with a bag of food. With how hefty it looked, there was a good amount in it. He slipped it through the hole and smiled a bit standing there. 

The God was unsure of what to do. He stood up and walked over to the bag, looking inside. There was a cup in there with coffee no doubt as well as three plates. One had just sausages, one was eggs, and the third was pancakes. There were also three containers with a brown liquid. It was a better amount from before. Loki looked up at the other, who just motioned for him to eat. There was a fork in there too, which was a surprise. With the last three days, he had been given no utensils and all the plates were flimsy, not able to be used for anything. 

“Thought you could use a hot breakfast for once…” Steve sat down in front of the door, a bag near him as well. He wasn’t just bringing a meal; he was technically eating breakfast with the prisoner. He looked up as he opened one of the containers getting his own coffee out. 

Loki blinked, shocked once more by the man. “You are seizing to amaze me at the moment mortal…” Steve gave him a confused look, encouraging him to elaborate. “You come here, not long after I have been imprisoned asking for my story. Then you never ask again, only to tell me a bit of your own while giving me good meals. I have killed many and tried to rule, but you are treating me as though I did something minor, as though I was not behind a cell. Why?”

Steve just shrugged and looked down. He took a sip of his coffee. “When we were in the elevator, I was watching you the entire time. Some of the things you were doing gave off that we were getting half a story and that yours was ignored.” He furrowed his brow a bit. “I think I want to know someone’s whole story. After all, I didn’t know SHIELD created weapons that were going to be powered with the Tesseract.” He started to eat on his own plate a bit, eating slowly as he thought of what to say next.

Loki frowned. “What story do you want from me? Is Thor’s not enough for you when he is a friend and ally? I am a murderer. What more do you want?” He looked at the bag, deciding to get the meal out. It was given to him after all.

Steve shook his head. “Not with how you looked when your heritage was mentioned. What is Jotunheim, anyways? Thor never explained it and I for one would like to know why you have an issue with it if that is where you are from.” 

Loki turned away from the other, eyes avoiding the other’s gaze. He was silent for a long moment. “Jotunheim is home to the frost giants. Laufey, the king, was my father. During a war with Asgard, Odin found me and took me in. I was smaller than the others and, therefore, was most likely left for dead. At least that is how Odin made it sound. I have no proof of such a thing. I for one do not wish to trust the words of the All-Father. He never entrusts me so I should do the same.” He finally started to eat. The meal was not too bad. The liquid was pretty sweet. He would need to ask what it was later.

Steve stared a bit finishing up one of his plates. Unlike Loki, he had only two. He set the plate to the side and watched him. “What did he not trust you with?” He leaned forward some. 

A pained expression crossed Loki’s eyes. “What difference would such an answer give?”

“A lot. Trust me on this alright?” Steve smiled lightly.

Loki looked down. “I am over a thousand years old. I have lived my entire life being told I would grow up to be king, that I had the chance. I was told that Jotun are monstrous beasts…” His hands started to shake. “He told me all this and then never even told me what I was. I thought I was cursed when my skin did not react as it should have to a Jotun’s touch. And then to find out after so long that I was the very thing I grew up to fear…” His voice had started to crack. There was still so much rage in his chest that it felt like it was burning. 

What he didn’t notice was the walls to the room were starting to frost over, his anger causing his power to flare a bit. He couldn’t see that Steve was on the other side, a sympathetic look in his eyes. He let the quiet fill the room, letting the anger seep out a moment.

After a minute, Jarvis spoke up. “I would have to ask that you calm down. The rate the temperature is going, I will have to turn on the prison just so the glass does not crack.” 

Loki looked up, seeing the room. His breath was not fogged as it normally was in such temperatures. Slowly, he let the chill cool himself, shocked at what he did.

Steve let out a sigh. His outline could barely show that he was shaking his head. “Well… I can see some of your issues.” Loki looked towards the blond. “I bet I would be angry too. I bet you still feel inner hatred to yourself. I don’t blame you.” He stood up and patted his legs. It looked like he stretched a bit after that.

Loki stared. “You… Understand that?” He was unsure how to truly feel about that. 

“Yeah. I do. I can’t see that for being everything, but part of it.” He looked at the other through the frost. “I’ll bring you more coffee later so you can taste it while hot. Not a lot of people like it while cold.” He turned, starting to head out.

The God blinked and watched the outline leave.  
\-----  
Tony stood in his room. He had stayed in there for a while, doing some diagrams. He also had a video up so that he could see Steve talking to Loki. Yeah, he had been keeping an eye on Stars and Stripes. It was just as much of a shock to him as it was to the God when the guy asked about what the God’s deal was, as well as just when he started talking. 

The engineer sat down once Steve left, having the video turn off. So Loki had father issues. That was always great to have. He remembered being slightly self-destructive and hated his father’s guts. He still did, but not so much. He looked over to design a moment. 

So if the anger from his father got him to try to destroy an entire world, what caused him to try to take over one he had no connection to?


	5. The Truth Behind the Mask

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve decide to talk to the others, only to realize things are not right.

The Avengers never really said anything about the soldier always volunteering to go and delivering the meals to Loki. It wasn’t like any of them actually wanted to go down to the basement as it was. It was best to just ignore the person and pretend that he wasn’t there. It made everyone happy. Thor actually left for a bit, needing to take care of some Asgardian business or something. Other than Steve leaving for a bit every day, no one thought of anything other than how their days were going. Bruce was actually calmed down now so there was no tenseness in the group. It seemed like everything was going to be good to go. 

Tony, however, was still listening in on the conversations that Steve and Loki were having, currently sitting in his room. The God was actually starting to open up a bit and trade stories. The engineer learned that the dark-haired man had been married, but was actually a widower. His wife had passed away about a century ago. The loss of his kids started a lot of issues, but the loss of Sigyn made things a lot worse. He had lost everyone. It was no wonder why he was so damaged; first his kids, then his wife, then his brother and parents. It was quite horrid to hear about.

Other than that, there were a lot of battles alongside Thor that he knew of. Apparently, when the two were young, they were inseparable. Even when they were to be learning, they could not be without one another. It was kind of sad. They went from being best of friends to being unable to actually stand each other. 

Tony thought about his relationship with both Rhodey and Pepper. Hell, even Happy. He didn’t think he could survive if anything like that were to happen with them. To think this one person lost that kind of relationship with someone was kind of heartbreaking. The more he heard the two talk, the more he understood the God. And that was scary.

Loki wasn’t just another bad guy. He wasn’t greedy like Obadiah. He wasn’t out for revenge like Vanko. By the sounds of it, he was just a guy who had so much anger and pain that he just couldn’t let it all out. In truth, at the moment, he literally had nothing to lose. 

The engineer turned the monitor off once Steve went to leave once more. As much as the two were learning about the God, something still made no sense; why he attacked Earth. Someone like Loki… they would get their anger out on only the people who hurt him. Steve going after Hydra was a good example. Tony going after the Ten Rings was a great example! They had anger towards these two different groups so they took it out on them. But Loki? Why would he go after Earth? Something wasn’t right there. 

And the God was not telling them anything about it.

Tony stood from his chair, a frown on his lips. It had been three weeks now that Loki finally started to open up, but still, he said nothing about what caused him to attack Earth. Steve must have noticed this by now. Loki was avoiding the subject and that was not good. It was about time they knew what the hell happened to him after the downfall in Asgard.

The engineer went into the elevator; instructing Jarvis to have Steve meet him in there. It was one of the best places to talk and that was what the man wanted. As the room was lowered to the bottom floor, he thought about the information they knew. He only looked up when the elevator door opened.

“There a problem, Stark?” Steve walked in, standing against the wall closest to the buttons as the door closed. The machinery started to lift the room up, keeping it away from everyone else. It would give them some more privacy.

Tony leaned on the opposite wall. “Loki is avoiding what happened to him. I don’t think he really had an army. I think he was just to get them here, nothing more.” He watched at Steve stared at him confused. “I knew you were up to something Steve. You didn’t fool me. So I was listening to you and Loki. Since no harm was done, I didn’t say anything. But something _is_ up.” He crossed his arms, clenching his jaw some. “He is starting to trust you. I know the look he gives you. I think he is hungry to have a friend again and doesn’t even know it. And right now, you are that friend. But he doesn’t trust you yet with what happened to him…”

“What is your point?” Oh, Steve knew this too. He could see how quickly Loki started to talk. With centuries of having something and then having it all gone made someone get desperate for it again. Sure, it was just a small amount of time for someone so old. The fact still remained that he needed someone now and the soldier was giving that to him. He knew that. So what Tony was saying needed to lead to somewhere else.

“Even with the fact he trusts someone, something happened that was so bad he won’t talk about it. I am starting to think he was being controlled the entire time.” There was a sudden heavy feeling in the small space. 

There was silence for a bit. The blond looked down. “His eyes are green…” 

“What?”

Steve looked at the man, confusion covering those brown eyes as they stared back. “His eyes are green. When we first met him they were _blue_.” Both their eyes were widened by this fact. Clint’s eyes were blue from the scepter. That thing controlled him. They could tell when someone was controlled by that thing. But Loki’s eyes were so natural that none of them could see anything like that. “Tony… I think you’re right.” 

The scepter was not in control of Loki, but someone was. Someone had been in the man’s head, keeping him in check. Whatever they did to him, before sending him to earth, made sure that he would follow their orders without any complaint. 

Loki was never the enemy. 

Loki was a puppet.  
\-----  
Dinner was the normal take out. Natasha bought it, this time, stuff that she picked up from a Rosa’s Café. It was a good place so no one complained. However, what was odd was how quiet Tony was. Steve normally was quiet unless Clint talked up about something random so this wasn’t unusual. The archer was half asleep as it was. But Tony being quiet was a completely different story.

Bruce finally looked up at the other genius, uncomfortable with the silence. “So, what’s up? Something bothering you?” He took a bite of his burrito that was ordered for him. Not what he normally ate, but it was alright.

The man looked at the other and then shook his head. “Yeah… something is bothering me alright…” He leaned back a moment, staring at the ceiling. It was about high time to actually tell the team about what had been going on for a few weeks. “Steve has been talking to Loki this entire time.” The group stilled, staring at the man that was called out. “And Loki has been talking back. I have been keeping an eye on everything so you don’t have to worry.” This didn’t seem to ease anything.

Natasha looked at Steve. “And what have you been talking about?” The edge in her voice told them that she was holding back. She obviously wanted to hurt the soldier for even thinking this was a good idea.

The man swallowed a forming lump in his throat and then cleared it. “Well… I discovered that Odin can be a pretty bad father figure.” The humor was not found in anyone but Tony who smirked. “Other than that… I learned he is pretty messed up. If he was human, he would more than likely be put into a mental institute for depression or pent up pain.” 

Clint furrowed his brows a bit and shook his head. “What? Like, put him in Arkham Asylum or something?” Tony shook his head. Of course, he would bring up that comic book universe.

Steve sighed a bit. “I also noticed something about him. He is really avoidant of something. And we think it…” He glanced at Tony, his eyes uncertain about this part. “We think there was someone behind what Loki did. Someone worse.” 

Bruce stared at him, like the other two were doing, and set his meal down. “How can anyone be worse?” He didn’t think that was believable. What could be worse than a crazy God?

Tony spoke up for that question. “I don’t know. But this person might be how the guy downstairs got his army. It could also support how he became worse. I really don’t know why he would want Earth if he is mad at someone else.” He bit his lip a bit. “Think about it. He has a beef with someone. Why would you get back at them by taking over the world it sounds like the guy didn’t care too much about?”

The room was filled with silence again as everyone took this in. The group hated the guy, but sometimes some things made more sense than others. Clint seemed pale with the realization that the being who controlled him could be just as much a victim. Natasha tried to seem calm, but her hand was clenched around a napkin a bit too much. She didn’t want to even think about brainwashing. However, the thought was there now. Bruce just seemed nervous about the idea that someone out there could be scarier than what they had to deal with not so long ago. There was no way that there was worse. At least, that was what all of them were hoping.

“We are going to have to talk to Thor about this. I think he would want to know.” Bruce took a large gulp from his glass of water. He stood, leaving the rest of his burrito. He had lost his appetite now. He walked out of the room and headed to his bedroom to read. 

Tony sighed some and shook his head. “I really don’t want to deal with lightening storm…” He rubbed the bridge of his nose, knowing it was going to be bad. Well, at least the group listened. That was a start of things and that was important. As long as most of them listened then they had a chance to actually find out who was really behind the Chitari.

Clint stood up, finishing his dinner and stretched. He looked down a moment before looking at the Captain. “Are you going to continue talking to him?” 

Steve just nodded. The gaze went to Tony then, who raised his hands up in defense. “I’ll keep an eye on them. Don’t worry.” He smiled some, a real smile, not one of his sarcastic ones. He looked over to Steve a moment before standing. “Speaking of… Shouldn’t you be heading down to talk to Jack Frost now?” Since he has been freezing things, Tony was making a lot of ice nicknames for Loki.

The soldier sighed and nodded. He finished up what he had and went to the fridge. They didn’t get anything for the God, so he was just going to have to make something up for him real quick. They had more sandwich makings so that was what he grabbed and made two large sandwiches for the other.

After that, he headed down towards the stairs, Tony headed to his workshop. There were a few things needing to be done as it was. He set up the monitor again, this time being holographic so he could still work on his stuff and keep an eye on the two men below. The two started talking about their normal stuff, past stuff. This time, it seemed Loki was talking about a time he stole something and had a big fight with someone named Heimdall. Thor said about him, so the engineer was familiar with the name. Nothing special really. In turn, Steve said about a fight he once had over how a guy treated his girlfriend. Well, girlfriend at the time. She broke up with him soon after. 

It was nothing new until Steve finally, after so long of just talking to the other, asked a question. “Hey, Loki… I have to ask you something.” Tony looked off to the side of the screen. After the first freezing of the room, he had been keeping an eye on the temperature. The angrier the God was, frost started to appear. If he was dreading something or was just upset, it seemed that the temperature would just fall to the floor and rise as more cold appeared. If he was calm, the cold just remained around him. It was interesting how they could tell a lot from just the cold since he couldn’t control his powers yet. 

The air was starting to get a bit cooler, showing that the God was not exactly looking forward to the question. “It has been bugging me for a bit now…” Steve shook his head some. “But I have to know; where you controlled? Was someone controlling you when you tried to take over?”

“I don’t want to talk about that.” The reply was quick. There was no hesitation, and the temperature dropped quickly. Oh, that was not good.

Steve frowned a bit and leaned back. “…Loki, if someone was behind your actions-“

“I can’t talk about it!” Pulse was rising. The temperature was dropping to the point the machine would activate so the glass wouldn’t crack.

Tony stood quickly. He knew those signs. He knew the racing pulse, the panic, the terror in someone’s voice. He didn’t think aliens were capable of having it, but Loki was going into a panic attack. The man rushed down just as the machine started up. “Jarvis, shut that off and open the door!” 

Steve was standing now, not sure what to do. He looked over to the other man as he rushed in. He never actually dealt with this. It was a different form of PTSD that wasn’t familiar to soldiers that were not tortured or had been close to death. 

Tony rushed into the chamber, slipping a bit from the sudden wet ice on the floor. So wet ice equaled panic as well. That was good to know. He knelt down in front of Loki, who was now curled into a ball. This was so weird, seeing a God figure like this. However, he couldn’t worry about that right now. Loki was starting to actually hyperventilate. The human moved his hands out of the way so that he could make him look up.

There was a terror in those green eyes. For some reason, Tony was taken back to Yinsen, when the leader of Ten Rings was about to put a hot coal in his friends mouth. The terror the man had was brought back just from seeing the God having such fear from something that happened. 

This really wasn’t good. Tony looked up to Steve. “Go get a glass of water.” It would give the man something to do, but also gave the two dark haired men time alone. Being with one person might help a little bit. There was also the fact that the water would be useful once the one calmed down.

The engineer took a slow breath and then took Loki’s hand. Carefully, he placed it on his own chest. It was something he learned about a little bit later after getting the rest of the shrapnel removed; the pulse of someone else could really help. At the same time, he kept a steady pattern of breathing. “Just breathe with me, okay?” Loki was confused, that was obvious, but he still tried to breathe in the same rhythm. It was difficult, the engineer could tell. But after a moment, the practice did seem to work.

By the time Loki was calm enough to start crying a bit, Steve came down with the glass of water. He watched the two a moment before walking in. “Got the water…” He handed it to the other Avenger, who let the hand fall from his chest. “Is he going to be okay?”

Tony shook his head. “Not down here…” That was something that neither of them wanted to actually think about. The one they were scared of needed comfort. Being in the chamber didn’t give him that. It was more than likely that the other Avengers wouldn’t take lightly to the criminal being given a room. But did they really have a choice?

The man moved, picking Loki up. He didn’t care that the water was still in his hand; he picked the guy up and started to carry him out of there. Other Avengers be damned. This guy was having a panic attack. There was no way he was leaving him on a hard floor; a soft bed was needed; comfort was needed. If anyone argued with him they had another thing coming. He started up the stairs, Steve close behind. The God leaned against the man’s chest. He was calming down at least. Maybe the ‘another thing coming’ could wait until he had him settled down.

Thankfully no one was there while they made their way to the elevator. Tony asked that Jarvis take the three up to a certain floor. While the box moved up, Loki carefully reached down and took the water. That made it easier for the human to hold him at least. The engineer smiled at that and just watched the numbers go up.

Once the doors opened, the two started moving again. Steve has no idea where they were going. To his surprise, the smaller man actually went to his own room. “Are you sure it is a good idea to come in here?” 

Tony just shrugged. “Might as well. I know how to handle this stuff.” He walked in and set the God down onto the bed. Stuff was scattered everywhere, but it didn’t matter. Stuff would be cleaned when Loki was out. Besides, he had a pullout couch in the room just in case something like this happened. He just didn’t expect who it would be with, though. “I can keep an eye on him and I am sure if something happens Jarvis will take care of it.” He sat on the edge of the bed. Loki was dazed. This was probably his first panic attack, and those things could drain someone pretty badly.

Steve simply nodded. “I’ll let the others know so they don’t freak out that he isn’t in the chamber.” He frowned some as he looked at the black haired man a moment. He was shaking and still pale. What the hell happened that caused such a trauma?

The blond turned and left the room, asking Jarvis where everyone is. It was best to go now instead of asking questions.

Tony sighed some and looked at the trickster. “You can just rest in here for a bit. You don’t need to worry about anything.” He knew being triggered so quickly was bad. He stood up and went over to get himself a drink. Just a little bit of brandy, nothing more. He couldn’t afford to take any more if he was going to be making sure his guest in the bed was alright.

“Thanos.” The engineer froze a bit. He turned and looked at the other, seeing him drain the water. He set the glass to the side. “His name is Thanos.” He looked up, paled from just speaking the name. “That is who had a leash on me.” 

He set his own glass down, the liquor not even touched. “What did he do to you…?”

“You don’t want to know.” The God shifted, settling himself down to go to sleep. He was done talking about all that. He just wanted to let it go.


	6. Sharing Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve needs to know about Thanos, but also, it seems that Tony has a chance to bond with Loki.

Tony remained in the room for two hours before leaving. Loki had fallen asleep long before, but the engineer had been quite disturbed by what he just witnessed. Loki had been innocent in a sense. Sure, he had crimes in Asgard that he had to pay for, but on Earth, there was a benefit of the doubt. The fear that Loki showed just because of what happened to him… there were few who could fake that. And liars tended to know how to see when someone else is lying. 

Loki was afraid of one person it seemed, and if it caused him to go into a panic attack so quickly, then he had a good reason. This Thanos guy was dangerous as hell. There was no denying that. If that was the case, then the team had more on their hands than they originally thought. The Chitauri may return. They knew for a fact that the Chitauri could return to finish the job. The question was; were they going to have the big man with them?

The thought caused the acid in the man’s stomach to churn some. He didn’t even think they had a chance to even go through something like that. More than likely, they would be slaughtered. 

It was late, but Tony needed to talk to someone. The only person he could think of was Steve. He might still be up. He seemed pretty shaken as it was. It was best to check on the soldier anyways. So the dark brunet headed to the elevator after placing a blanket over the sleeping form on his bed. He had originally planned for the team to be on different floors, thinking the privacy would be good. However, he decided it better to have them close together. He actually shared the floor with Bruce, while Steve, Clint, and Natasha shared the floor just below. 

He would have taken the stairs, but there was a numb sensation running through Tony from what he heard. It was hard to ignore something like that. It made him weak in the knees and taking the stairs would more than likely cause his legs to buckle. 

Thor would have to be informed next time they saw him. That was something that was not avoidable. Hell, the God of Thunder might even know who they would be up against. It could give the rest of the team a bit of a heads up. Loki was in no condition, mentally, to talk about what happened. Not with a reaction like that. They had to let the Trickster come out on his own terms. 

The elevator stopped finally and the door opened up. The man walked forward, trying to keep a strong posture. It didn’t work too much. His legs were shaking quite a bit. Oh well… He stopped walking when he reached a door in the hall. At first, he just stood there. Did Steve really need to know this right now? 

Yes. Yes, he did.

Tony knocked on the door and waited. He could hear movement on the other side, indicating that the soldier was up. The door was opened only a moment later. The soldier was standing there, half naked with a towel over his head. Apparently, the engineer got to him at just the right time.

“Hey, Tony. Something wrong?” He frowned a bit. It was not hard to take in the pale complexion that the other man had. He looked like he was going to be sick actually. “Come in and sit down… I am going to get you some water…” He walked away, letting the other man follow in and sit in a chair that was next to a desk.

The room was quite a set up for Steve. Tony had gotten a comfortable bed and a few modern things in the room to liven it up a bit. There was actually a computer in there that Jarvis controlled mostly. It was just for quick searches, though. Steve was good with computers as it was. He didn’t need to worry about tutorials. However, some of the new games gave him a few problems. There was also a TV and a radio that the engineer designed. It played every station pretty well and some songs could be searched and saved if Steve wanted them to be. Of course, since the man was from the past, there were a few things that were not so new. The record player that he told Loki about was set near the desk so that he could easily listen to music without getting up. There was a nice looking box set up for the different records set on the large desk. Speaking of the desk, it was an antique! Tony specifically looked for a secretary desk from the 1920s for the soldier to use. Shame it would only get any action when Steve visited the tower. One of the drawers on the leg was open to show that some paper had been placed in it. A drawer at the top had a pen sticking out, showing that at least it was in use. 

Steve came back with a cup from the bathroom. He set it on the desk and sat on the bed. He observed the other. “So… what happened?” He was pretty worried now. 

Tony took a sip from the cup and shrugged. “Just realized that we are screwed.” He stared at the ground a bit, reviewing the conversation in his head again. Damn… Loki said only four sentences but the way he said them… The way he acted… “Loki won’t even tell me what Thanos did to him. That was enough to tell me it was bad. Hell, I still don’t talk about what happened in Afghanistan. If a God can’t talk about what he went through…” He ran a hand through his hair. “And with how terrified he was? This guy is bad news…” He looked up at the other. 

Steve was trying to keep a blank expression, trying to stay calm. His tightened jaw didn’t help hide the fact this was disturbing. This was really bad. “So… we have an alien named Thanos. If we get rid of him, we might be able to handle his army.” Positive. It was best to try and think positive. Nothing came from freaking out.

“I don’t know… we have to talk about this to Thor. Maybe he has heard of something about this.” Tony drained the cup and set it back onto the desk. Before they talked about that, though, there was one thing that needed to be known. “Do our friends know where Loki is?”

Steve nodded slowly. He was still thinking about the threat. More information was going to be needed about him. If just a little is known, then some preparations could be made. Unfortunately, Fury would have to be told soon. “I didn’t see Clint, but Natasha knows. I managed to catch Bruce before he went to bed. They were warned.” He leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees. “I’ll see what I can do about Thor tomorrow.” After all, Loki was still in the other man’s room. Until he was secured in the chamber again, they could not leave him alone. There was also the fact it might not be safe for him to _be_ alone.

The engineer stared at the ground a moment, just thinking. He stood up and stretched. Even though they needed to figure out what to do next, there was no way the two of them could do it alone. Things would have to pick up in the morning once Thor got there. If he got there anyways. Who knew if the God would come and visit? For all they knew, he would stay in Asgard for the time.

Either way, it was time for the two to try and get some sleep. Worrying can come later. At least, Tony hoped he could calm himself down enough to sleep. He still felt light headed. “I’ll see you later.” That was all he said as he walked out of the room. He didn’t even wait for Steve to reply. A response was not needed. 

Tony walked back to the elevator to head back up to his floor. Once again, the small conversation he had ran through his mind. He didn’t care what Loki said, he tried to figure out why it was that a God was scared of someone. Torture was an obvious thing but what happened? It couldn’t have been just that. Maybe it was the type? Loki was an ice giant so fire could have easily harmed him. But what else? Not knowing the type of person they were up against didn’t help. They didn’t know what he could do; if he had any powers or if he just had strength with being able to control an entire army. Maybe he held something over Loki. That thought wasn’t very likely, though. 

The elevator stopped and the door opened once more. Steps echoed through the quiet hall as the man walked forward, heading towards his room. He was too deep in thought to notice the ice that was creeping on the floor or the frost that had been building into the walls. It was only when calloused fingers touched the metal of the doorknob did Tony lifted his head up. Being this close to the door, he could see his breath lifting into the air. 

“Jarvis. What is the temperature in my room?”

“Falling to 28 degrees sir.” 

Tony frowned a bit. Why would it have dropped like that? Is he having another panic attack? Maybe it was a nightmare. “What are Loki’s brain waves saying?” 

A small hologram appeared on the door to make it clear to see the readings the AI was getting. They were calm and steady. There was nothing going on. Tony narrowed his eyes a bit. “Does… Did this happen in The Breathless?” The Breathless was actually the name he gave the machine down under his workshop. He didn’t tell the others since it was just a name he thought up not that long ago. He just didn’t bother mentioning it.

The hologram changed to a video from one of the past days. It seemed that is was only a week ago. Loki was seen on the floor, sleeping it seemed. Within seconds, thanks to the video being sped up, the room started to frost over. It would have frozen over, but there was a good circulation of air in there so that some of the cool air went out. The bedroom didn’t have that. Sure the air was circulated, but it was more to keep the air moving. It wasn’t like how more oxygen was being put through the lower levels.

So it seemed that there was nothing wrong. Carefully, Tony opened the door. The cool air hit him quickly and caused a shiver to run down his body. Thankfully the carpet was not slippery, but it still crunched when he took a step in. This crunch was loud enough to disturb the sleeping form on the bed.

Loki sat up quickly, as though a gun had gone off. Apparently he was a light sleeper if just that bothered him. At least, he calmed down enough to see he was not under attack. The God looked around the room confused at first. He had forgotten he was in Tony’s room.

Speaking of the room… it was quite a sight. The walls were frosted over and the glass to the large window had collected condensation from the different temperatures hitting it. The blanket that was now moved down to the Gods waist had some flakes of ice that piled where the blanket ruffled a bit.

Loki sighed a bit and then flopped back onto the bed. He ran a hand through his long hair. “Apologies. I didn’t think I would wake up like this again.” So it wasn’t often that he froze a room.

Tony walked in more and went to get a drink. At least, the alcohol was not frozen. “You’re fine. I am surprised that you can change the temperature in an entire room, though. Is that normal for Jotun, or is it normally just a radiation of cold?” He poured some brandy into a glass. Getting some ice was not needed thankfully. The liquid was already quite chilled. He turned to the other who was sitting up again.

The darker haired man sighed a bit and shook his head. “Normally it is just whatever a Jotun touches.” Tony noted the fact he was not referring to himself. Showed he was still not accepting of it. That was good to remember. “I think it has something to do with the environment I was raised in or maybe the glamor placed over me. The glamor makes more sense, though… I don’t know.” He shook his head a bit, looking at his pale fingers, clasped together on his lap.

Pouring brandy in another glass, Tony hummed some. “I do not know anything about the magic stuff. I would need it explained to me in a scientific manner to understand it, or let me study the stuff to figure it out.” He turned towards the other and walked over. In one hand was the new glass that he handed to Loki. “I think I owe you a drink.” He smirked, remembering the last thing the trickster said to him before the mask had been placed over his mouth.

The glass was taken with a small ‘Thanks’. After a small sip, the man shrugged. “Well, I wouldn’t know how to explain magic to a mortal. And as I have no way of showing you magic I doubt I can let you… observe it.” He looked at the brandy a moment. “This is good actually.” He frowned a bit with surprise before taking another sip. Maybe he should have tried some of this Midgardian alcohol before opening the portal to the Chitauri.

Tony sat on the edge of the bed, ignoring the cold sensation coming from the chilled fabric. He hummed lightly and then shrugged. “Maybe later. I can always figure things out one way or another.” He smirked. He could always ask Thor about it.

There was silence for a short between the two. The room didn’t lose much of its chill, so the human started to shiver a bit. “You should probably leave a moment… or put the heat on in here.” The God leaned back, finishing his drink and setting it off to the side. He didn’t want the other dying, well, not right now. It seemed this mortal understood him more than the others besides Steve.

“Nah. The cool air is… appreciated.” He drank the last bit of his own brandy and stood to go get another glass. He noted the silence and suspected that curious look that he had seen before from Loki. He glanced back and there is was. “It gives a sense of reality. I am kind of having a problem believing there is someone worse than you.” He poured the liquid and turned to the other with a smirk. “Didn’t say much, but your body language is familiar.” 

Loki took a deep breath and nodded lightly. “I know of a few worse than me. The only difference with Thanos is his power, his drive… He’s insane.” His gaze looked at the windows, the frost trying to inch onto the glass and failing.

Tony shook his head some and brought the brandy bottle over to give the other a bit more in his glass. “Don’t even start talking about him. I know the look in your eyes.” He watched the God as he poured the alcohol into the empty glass, filling it up quite a bit. There was a tense look about the thinner frame. The pale jaws were tight which emphasized the bones. Thin fingers were clenched tightly. It wasn’t hard to see the fear that wrapped around this being. “If anything, I plan to talk to Thor about this guy rather than make you talk. At least, until you have more control over… well, this.” He motioned around the room before setting the bottle down. If the temperature was going to drop just from panic, then it was best to get things controlled first before actually attempting to talk about something like that.

The trickster managed to relax a little at this. He wouldn’t have to bring up anything painful. That was good. “I am unsure if the big oaf would know such a name. I don’t even think Odin has the faintest hint of whom we speak of.” He picked up the glass again drinking from it a bit quicker than last time. He emptied the glass in a good two gulps. Someone had practice in drinking games it seemed. “I do wonder if I will be going back into that chamber you made.”

It was silent for a moment. There seemed to be no threat. However, Bruce, Natasha, and Clint might still feel uncomfortable with having this guy walking around freely. “Hate to say it, but I don’t think it would be a good idea just yet for you to be a free man.” As much as Steve was starting to trust him, Tony still had a few doubts as it was. “We can work up to it at least, right?”

Loki chuckled and shook his head. “I think I will head there now then…” He stood up out of the bed. He walked towards the door and then paused. His fingers lingered on the handle before he turned to the human. “Thank you… for letting me rest here for a moment. As well as… helping me through… what… happened…” 

“Helping you through the panic attack?” Loki frowned a bit to the response. He turned to look at Tony, who was giving him an equally confused look. “Don’t tell me you don’t know what a panic attack is…” The mortal stood up, crossing his arms. He couldn’t believe that this God didn’t know what something like that was. But then again… maybe they didn’t normal have it. “It is an acute anxiety. Pretty bad actually. Cripples you.” He walked up to Loki and patted the being on the shoulder. However, he backed off. Damn… he was really cold at the moment.

Loki let out a short breath and nodded some. “Alright… I can see the crippling situation.” He looked down and then turned, heading out without another word. He walked towards the elevator, vaguely remembering where it was when he was brought up. Going in was weird. There were no chains; this was willing. Once the machine stopped at the bottom floor, the God walked out and turned towards the stairs. There was no place to go. At the moment… The God of Lies and Mischief didn’t know what to do.

Tony stood there and sighed. Well… that was interesting. He looked around the room for a short. “Defrost the room Jarvis.” He sat on the bed, drinking the rest in his own glass. 

Jarvis soon filled the silence before it got too heavy. “Loki is returned to The Breathless. Shall I lock the door?” 

Tony thought for a moment. “No. Keep it unlocked.” He felt there was no danger. And besides… with what he heard from eavesdropping, Loki might just need a place to think.


	7. The Search for Answers is On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers need to get information, but the search is not fruitful.

There was no time to waste now that a threat had been revealed. Knowing that there was a large problem made it that the tower was a bit full of activity. Information had to be found on Thanos. SHIELD was notified to look in their databases for anything. Jarvis was sent to look through the web. Electronics were being checked to make sure they were up to date and ready for an attack even if it would not be soon. The only thing left was to notify the final member of the Avengers and to see what he had to say about the new information.

Steve had just left Tony alone in the kitchen getting coffee to go to the roof. Loki had yet to talk more though he had tried. The engineer had the right idea for trying to keep the other from getting emotional. Until there was a balance in his power, the Jotun had to worry about himself. Those powers of ice could be a real problem until he had a handle on them.

That was the problem, though: he needed time. Thor would more than likely not let the younger being have the time he needed. Hell, even Odin might forbid it. Because of that, Loki may not have the time to get his powers in check to where they are not dangerous to himself. They would try to give him time somehow. 

For now, however, something more important had to be taken care of. The trickster can worry about that after other things are found out. Steve stood on the rooftop, staring at the sky. He called out, feeling a bit ridiculous really. This was what the God normally did when he was leaving. He would call to a guy named Heimdall and the bi-frost would be activated. But the fact of the matter remained that this felt weird and like someone was pranking the soldier. Seriously, how did anyone hear someone on Earth when they were in Asgard?

However, whoever was there that could hear, it worked. After half an hour of sitting there feeling like an idiot, the sky started to shift. Steve stood up and watched as the clouds started to swirl and finally let a beam of light slam into the exact same spot as before. They like doing direct hits. Once the light vanished and the sky changed back to the natural clear blue that had been there before, the prince of Asgard stood in the middle the circle, wearing more casual clothing. Apparently he planned on staying for a bit this time.

“My friend, why did you call? Heimdall said you sounded-“

Steve cut him off by lifting a hand. “We have trouble. I understand that not everything Loki says can be trusted. However, something he said…” He looked off to the side. “Do you know anything of a being called Thanos?” He didn’t look up. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see Thor’s reaction, just in case it wasn’t good.

However, the God looked at is friend with confusion. “'Thanos'?” He thought for a moment and then shook his head. “No… I don’t think I recall such a name…” He folded his arms as he tried to think. In his centuries, this name did not seem to pop up. Maybe he could go ask his father, but then that meant he would not find out what is going on. “I think Heimdall can have it looked up and then the information sent to me. I think Sif would be best.” He looks towards the sky, hoping his friend had heard everything.

Steve still felt a bit dishearted. Hearing that the God of Thunder had never heard the name meant that they had less hope of finding out who they were up against. Still, it did give them one thing; Thanos wasn’t part of the Nine Realms. He was further than that. It meant they might have a little bit of time to try and make weapons strong enough to fight this unknown adversary. At least, that is something that the soldier could hope for.

The two headed to the elevator to go see how the information search was going. There was a high chance nothing was found so this was not something the man was excited for. They got to the tech room and stepped out, seeing a very large workspace with multiple computers and monitors. Below them was a set up with a good amount of suits. This was the first time either of them had been in there, so it was a shock to see it was just a larger workshop with machines helping to build everything. In the corner, the main Iron Man suit stood, ready for when they got called out to a mission. 

Tony was walking around different holograms of the news media. They were speeding through searching for any mention of ‘Thanos’. There were some monitors going through past recording from when Loki had previously been there. So far it didn’t seem like there was anything. But the engineer kept trying to find something.

Off to one side was a video feed going on right now down below. Loki was sitting in the middle of the machine. Under the video was a label, ‘The Breathless’. That was an interesting name. At first, that was the only thing Steve noticed.

Thor spotted something else. “The door is open!” He walked forward, looking at the machine entrance. It was indeed open allowing the God to leave if he wanted to. 

Tony looked back at the two, finally noticing them. “Yeah. I don’t feel I need to leave it closed. Not like he moved at all since he walked back last night. By himself, I might add.” He turned back and threw one of the videos into a holographic trashcan. “Don’t worry. If he starts to leave the tower, Jarvis is to stop him with a few of my suits. I doubt he could do anything to them without his powers under control.” 

Steve walked over to the man with a smile. “Giving a bit of freedom to Loki is still risky. But, at least, he has it. Anything yet?”

Tony gave the Captain a look of ‘Really?’ before turning back to the monitors. He threw another bit into the ‘trash’ and sighed. “Nothing. I even hacked into SHIELD again just to make sure they didn’t miss anything.” He was silent a moment and then shook his head. “You know… most people by now would be telling us that Loki lied to give us a wild goose… I’m glad we kept it in the dark who told us.” 

It hadn’t been the team’s choice to keep this a secret. Once Fury was informed of the situation, he told everyone to keep their mouths shut. He knew that if word got out that Loki was back it would cause a lot of panic and that was the last thing they needed. If the Chitauri would no doubt come back then they needed everyone as calm as possible so that they can prepare for the worst.

Thor frowned as he looked at the monitor. He did not like the idea at all. Loki being allowed to get out of the machine whenever he wanted was not safe. In fact, the idea was preposterous. If Odin found out about this there could have been hell to pay. However… the two other men knew what they were doing. If anything, it was wise to listen to them for the time. They had been with the Trickster for a while. Maybe they knew better. Besides, Loki was still sitting in the middle of the chamber. He had yet to move even with the freedom right there. 

Steve looked back at the God. He smiled some and walked over. “He told me about some of your adventures together. He actually misses those days.” 

A small twitch of a smile tugged at the edge of Thor’s lip. He turned away from the image and nodded. “Those were good times; when we were both ignorant and carefree. I sometimes miss them, as well.” He thought of those moments a lot, wishing they had not ended. But after what happened to the children… “Tell me, how long have you been conversing with him?”

Tony looked back at the being, smirking a bit. This should be good. “The Captain has been talking to your brother since day one. One sided at first, but soon Loki pitched in.” He waved the screens away, letting Jarvis continue the search as he leaned on one of the counters. “I’m really starting to not like your dad, you know? Reminds me too much of my own.” 

Thor frowned a bit as he shook his head. “I assure you, our fathers are not alike.”

“Really? Let’s see, if I were to put my feet in Loki’s shoes, it sounds a lot like it. No matter what Loki did, Odin was not happy. No matter what he tried, Odin blew him off. There was always something, in his case, someone that Odin paid attention to more. Half the time Loki had no idea if he was loved or just in the way. Whatever Loki said meant nothing to the old man.” Tony had started to count everything on his fingers as he said them. He was glaring at the God a bit. “Yeah. That sounds a lot like Howard. The only difference is that Loki was adopted and then never told about it. And then he was brainwashed into hating his own kind.”

Steve blinked a bit as he stared at Tony. He had not thought about how much this would influence the other man. Sure, the blond knew Howard personally, but he never had the chance to see what kind of parent he was. Being frozen didn’t help that. Now that Tony was becoming emotional about this, he could see that, as a person, Howard was pretty good. But a parent? Not so much. However, he was seeing how Odin could definitely be seen as worse if this was how someone else with a bad parent would react. “I hate to agree. But I have to Thor… Loki is a mess. And I understand, you love your dad, but sometimes it needs to be noted that they can be… well, not that good.” He folded his arms together, looking off to the side. “Taking someone’s children away is already a pretty big deal. But keeping such a big secret away from Loki was the icing on top. Loki is still struggling with that. He is literally torn between some of the most important things to him just because he was kept in the dark.”

Thor stared at his two friends, not liking this conversation. He felt like he was being betrayed for some reason. “He killed so many people… tried to take over…”

“Because of Thanos.” Tony narrowed his eyes. “Trust me on this; he isn’t faking fear when it comes to this guy. The only person I can think of who could pull off a panic attack is The Flash. And he is from a comic book series.” Thor gave him a confused look, making the engineer roll his eyes. “A panic attack is an acute fear. Some symptoms include hyperventilation, which Loki was starting to do if I hadn’t gone to calm him down. It isn’t fun and can be painful at times. I should know…” His gaze went down as he tried not to think about his own problem with the attacks.

Sometimes, it was painful to know friends that had experienced as much pain as another. Thor looked to the ground as he realized that his friends were indeed right. Odin had seemed like an amazing father, an amazing king, to his oldest son. But now he saw that to Loki the story was completely reversed. He had not seen the flaws that the All-Father had because he lived with bliss, only feeling pain when he was either betrayed or seeing someone so close in so much pain. Once again, Thor saw the torment that his younger brother went through. He ran a hand through his hair, not really sure what to say or do.

Steve looked over at the brunet. After a moment of them letting the God absorb this information, Jarvis spoke up. “I am sorry to interrupt, but I have gone through a complete scan. There are no records in the SHIELD database for the name ‘Thanos’. And so far, all records from today back to a year ago are also lacking anything we need.”

Tony groaned a bit. That wasn’t good. He didn’t want to think about going and talking to Loki just yet about all this. Not until he was ready. But if they didn’t know anything and didn’t have a chance to prepare, then they might have no choice but to go and talk to the God. Having him in The Breathless was not the ideal spot to do that, though. It was too cold, too isolating. There was nothing to give comfort. Tony knew from experience that panic attacks were worse when the place wasn’t comforting. After all, in the restaurant he had been in with Rhodes, the panic attack took a moment to really kick in. When he was alone in that cold snow covered town, the attack was quick. 

Tony had an idea of what to do, but there was no way he was going to decide this one on his own. “Jarvis, be a dear and message Natasha and Clint to get to the tower. I kind of need to talk to them. Also, get Bruce up here.” He started to take down the monitors, making the room seem more spaced out. The only spot that was occupied once everything was cleared away was the hologram of Loki sitting in the same spot. Interesting how the being could remain in one spot for so long. Did the Asgardians know of meditation or something? They must of because that is what it looked like the God was doing.

A bit of pacing started for the engineer as he waited for Bruce to get there. The assassins were still quite a bit away since they went to SHIELD headquarters directly to try and find information. The good doctor should have been just a few floors down in the lab area. So it wouldn’t be long for him to get there. For now, the Man of Iron was working things out in his head, thinking of the best way to set things up. It wasn’t going to be easy to get someone to talk about their horrors. If anything, a bit of show and tell might be in order for this to work. That was going to bring the nightmares back.

It barely took five minutes before the doctor came in. He was wearing his glasses so it was easier to read the book in his hand. It didn’t seem as though he was too fazed by the fact he was called. Either that or he was hiding it pretty well. “So, what’s the problem?” He sat in a chair near a set of stairs that lead to another room, one to relax in after a hard day of work.

“I think we should give Loki a proper room.” Tony wasn’t looking up at anyone. He was also still pacing, afraid of someone grabbing him by the throat or something. The look Thor was more than likely giving him was probably a threat of murder.

At least, that was what he thought. Instead, he got a look of understanding from Bruce, who had heard about the entire ordeal in the machine. Unlike Natasha and Clint, he had asked for details so he had known about the trigger and how fast the God reacted. Steve had a more thoughtful look, as though he was not too sure about this. He would consider it, though. Thor, who should have still been on the fence about his brother, was actually thinking about what the two had told him. If all this was started out of rage and hurt, maybe the opposite was finally needed.

Thor was the first to speak on his thoughts. He knew it would be important for him to state what he considered. “If it will help him overcome what has happened, then I completely agree with you.” He smiled though it seemed a bit forced. He was hurting inside for his ignorance. This might be just a small thing he could do to make amends.

“It may not be my field, but even I know a better environment is good on the mind.” Bruce set his book to the side, watching as Tony finally realized that two of his friends were actually agreeing with him for once. There was no persuasion, they were just agreeing. Bruce was finding the shocked look slightly amusing.

Tony looked between the two before turning to the one he thought would be saying something immediately against the idea. Sure, Steve had started to befriend the God, but that didn’t change the fact he thought the being was dangerous. But there he was, head down, arms crossed, and a very stern look in his eyes as he thought about the pros and cons of this situation.

It took a moment, but Steve finally nodded. “If it gets something out of him, then I am for it. However… we still need to keep an eye on him. Just because we are giving him leeway doesn’t mean we drop our guard…” He looked up. “Him being in… The Breathless,” he couldn’t help but smirk as he saw Tony grin at the name being used, “doesn’t mean much. He was locked up so I didn’t feel I needed to be on guard. Unless he proves otherwise now, he is still a criminal.” 

The three men nodded in agreement. Bruce stood up and started for the door so that he could continue to relax as he had been doing. They would all have to wait as it was for the final decision. Even thought there were already four people agreeing to all this, Clint and Natasha’s opinions were rather important for this situation.

However, what they didn’t expect was the third person to come in. “Absolutely not happening.” Fury glared at the three men in the lab. It was unknown at the moment why he came to the tower, but it was clear that he didn’t like the idea once Tony summed it up once again. The look he had was mostly pointed towards the one who suggested it. “I have no idea what the hell has been going on as of late, but no matter how much you all trust him, I am not letting that lunatic out of that cell.” He pointed at the screen that Tony had yet to put down. 

Steve stepped forward, hoping his opinion would be heard. “We don’t have anything on this Thanos character. If we had a chance to make Loki more comfortable then he might talk more about him.” Was it really that difficult to understand the situation?

Apparently it was. “I don’t care. You put this team at risk as it was by just talking with him. For all I know, he has been putting stuff in your head. Powers or not. Besides that, there has been no evidence that the man he is talking about even exists.” He looked at Tony then, a glare from his one eye still not being able to make this guy flinch. However, there was an uneasy feeling with the shorter man, and Fury knew it. “I never want to hear anything like this again. And I am going to make sure you never get the chance to suggest it.” He looked around a moment, looking at everyone in there. Bruce was the only one absent. Fury didn’t want the chance of setting the big man off. “I am taking Loki to another facility, one where no one will see him and no one can talk to him.” There was a hint in his voice that stated that not even the Avengers would be able to find him.

Thor stepped forward, feeling dread in his stomach. It had been so long since he had felt fear for the other. “Fury, please listen. I don’t trust Loki just as much as you, but I trust my friends.”

That was as far as he got before the director opened the door. “I don’t care about that. He is being moved.” 

The door shut and Tony reacted. He turned towards the computer, ordering Jarvis to shut The Breathless and to not let anyone in until he said otherwise. Despite still being in the prototype phase, the engineer activated one of the suits controlled strictly by the AI. If Fury got to close to the machine then it would react. Tony was so busy with trying to figure out how to protect Loki that he didn’t notice the God stand up as the door closed. 

Loki stared at the door, surprised it had suddenly shut. He walked over, starting to think that maybe they had decided this was safer. It wasn’t like they couldn’t be blamed for it. That thought did not last, though. When Fury suddenly came down, ordering the door to be opened, the answer from Jarvis made the God understand.

“I’m sorry, Director, but you do not have the authorization to enter this chamber.”

_Oh._ Loki wanted to smile but held it back. He was being guarded. It was something that he had not expected nor was he use to anymore. It felt so foreign that at first, the God was unsure if he was truly being watched over. But as the anger from the director grew and he started to stop out, it was obvious. 

He stared after the dark man left, not sure what much to say or do than stand there. 

Natasha stared at the monitor after the director left, shaking her head. “He isn’t going to be too nice about this.” She leaned on the counter with a glare at the three men. She had agreed with the director. Listening to Loki was one thing, but giving him free reign was not something that should happen. It could lead to more trouble than they needed. Dealing with Loki once was good enough for her. She didn’t much feel like having to go through anything like that again. 

Tony shook his head and sat down. “I don’t care. You know as well as I that it is impossible to fully fake a panic attack. You can get close, but the physical part of it all is pretty hard to mimic.” 

“He is a master at lying.” Clint had been quiet the entire time, holding onto his arm tightly. He seemed uneasy about this entire thing. But after what Loki did, it was hard to believe he had been accepting stuff this much. At least, until it came to giving the other a room.

Thor frowned as he stepped forward. He may not trust his brother much anymore, but he did trust his friends, as he tried to tell Fury. He didn’t like the fact he had to take a side. “Understand, I knew not what a panic attack was. In Asgard, there is no such thing. If he is mimicking something from here on Midgard, I know not the time he would have studied it.” He looked at the monitor, seeing his brother sitting back down. He must have felt safe. 

Steve waved his hand a bit. “Besides that, his heart rate picked up and it was difficult to breathe. Jarvis confirmed that he wasn’t faking anything. And without his magic, I don’t think he could have made himself pale the way he did.” He stepped towards the assassins. Clint looked down as he thought. He might have been coming to the idea. Natasha, on the other hand, glared darkly at the three. “We aren’t trying to make him look like a good guy. We still see him as what he did. But if he is speaking the truth-“

“Yeah. ‘If’. Meaning he could be lying.” Natasha turned to head to the elevator. “And I would vote for that.” She walked off, going to meet up with the director.

Clint sighed. He walked over to a chair and sat down. He kept his head low as he spoke up. “You have to understand, she doesn’t want to risk him manipulate anyone and making them fight her.” He started to press his fingers into his knuckles, massaging them a little. “We are assassins. When we fight, we don’t let people live often. That fight we went through bugged her more than she lets on.” He went still, looking at the callused skin a bit. 

Steve nodded in understanding. Natasha kept herself distant from everyone for a reason. Unfortunately, she and Clint were close. The soldier was sure that if she had killed the other, she would have been a mess until she gained her composure once more. Even if it was just a few days, Steve would never have wanted her to go through something like that. Losing Bucky was hard, he couldn’t think about what he would have gone through if he had to fight the man. 

Thor watched the two a moment before looking at the monitors. Both the director and Natasha were leaving for the time. This argument was not over. Not by a long shot. However, it was settled for a time. “We better get that room set up…”


	8. Keep Calm and Set Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite the argument, a room is set up for Loki, and the God is confused by everyone's actions.

After the threat left, the door had opened once more to the Breathless. Still, Loki did not leave it. He remained as though there was no way to leave. This was alright as the Avengers were busy still. Information was still being gathered and Thor and Tony were in a room trying to figure the best way to decorate it. The more welcoming the place was; the better. So far they had a bed fit for a God being prepared to be brought in as well as emerald colored paint being put on the walls. The two decided black and green with some gold fit perfectly for the one the room was for.

Tony also had ordered quite a few books to be shipped to the tower. It was no surprise that the being was a book worm. Hopefully, there were enough books coming in to fill in the entire bookcase that dominated the one wall. The engineer made sure to get books of every kind; Non-fiction and fiction; romance and horror; sci-fi and history. It was a good mix and it was made sure of that they were the top rated; though the Twilight saga was not one of the series that had been bought. It was thought to be best that if Loki was going to read about vampires, they were going to be right.

Other than the desk with some writing utensils and a journal, nothing was really going to be added. If Loki wanted something to wear, more than likely, they would be put in the giant closet that was in the room. Thor insisted it be filled too. There would be different varieties of fashions in there. Suits seemed to be a preferred for the God, but there would be things like sweaters and shorts. There would just be different odds and ends. There would also be shoes for pretty much every kind of occasion so Loki had no issues with that. 

The bathroom would, of course, match though this room would be black and a deep blue so that the apartment would not be monotone throughout. The counter was made with granite while the faucet for both the sink and shower had a metallic gray look to them. The shelves had the same look and it didn’t look half bad with the black towels that adorned the metal. Even though Thor said that they really didn’t have anything of such, Tony insisted on getting a bathrobe. Thankfully this came in quicker than the books. It was a dark green with black edging. On the back, a silver lined Triquetra was sewn into the fabric. The engineer thought it was a nice touch. 

If they could figure out how to do it without raising too many alarms, the God of Thunder hoped to bring a plant from Asgard for Loki. It would be a good way to meditate. There were also a few things that the younger might want from his room in the other realm. No spells or potions of course. But if there was a specific book that was needed or anything of the sort, Thor would get it. If Tony was right, then things from home could help. Maybe something from Frigga…

After certain things were set up for that day, the two left the room. There was still a lot of work to be done but for now, it was time to rest up. They could always get things done the next day. Hopefully, they didn’t get another visit from Fury before they were done. That might spoil the entire thing and Loki could be forcibly made to leave. 

“What more do you think needs to be done before we transfer my brother?” Thor looked over to the smaller man, frowning some. Ever since the director left, he had been worried. 

Tony just shrugged. “Just finish the bed, the little bit of painting. Though getting those books in would be nice. Can your brother really read that fast?” The two headed for the elevator, planning on getting something to eat. Bruce chose a new restaurant that night. Always good to have a test run on a place. And how else to get more business than have the Avengers get something to eat the first day it opened?

The God nodded, smiling. “I once watched Loki read one day. I had gotten in trouble and had to sit quietly with him. In one hour, he went through three books of large size. And this was when we were but children! What he didn’t eat in food, he devoured in knowledge.” It seemed to be a good memory to the blond. But then again, that was a kind time when the two could deem themselves such close brothers that no one could see one without the other.

Tony shook his head a bit with a chuckle. “I don’t think I could handle that. As much as books are good, that many? I think the only one with patients like that would be Bruce.” He pressed the button to go down to the main floor before leaning on the railing. He watched the numbers go down as they got closer. At least, he hoped to fill Loki’s thirst for reading. Keeping him busy with something he enjoyed just seemed like the best option in this case. 

The rest of the ride was in silence as they came to a halt on the first floor only seconds later. The doors opened and they walked out to head to the kitchen. Steve was already in there, reading the newspaper for that day. As much as the TV was useful for the news, old habits die hard. It didn’t seem like there was anything interesting, though. 

Tony sat loudly in a chair, making his announcement to being in there. Of course, Steve didn’t do anything. He was used to this from the engineer. There was always some way for the man to bring attention to himself and it never really matter the reaction. As long as it was known that he was there one way or another. 

Steve glanced up after a moment. “How long do you think it will be before the room is ready?” He set the paper down and stood to get a glass of orange juice. He had been acting like an anxious dog not sure of what to do. Clint and Natasha were still not fond of this idea and that could cause some serious issues later on. Nick would be furious if he found out that they did this even though he said not too, they were going to be in a world of hurt. 

Tony sighed a bit. It was starting to get really annoying how everyone seemed to be asking that question. “I’ll let you know when the books get here.” He really didn’t want Loki out until he had some reading material. “You know, I am thinking of making one of the floors a library. I have some that are not used for too much, I think I could convert one.” He smiled as he looked at the two in there, getting into the bag on the counter where the food was. There were only two bags left. Everyone else had already eaten.

Thor grabbed his bag and sat at the table. He pulled his trays out and set them down. “That would be good. After all, Bruce could have another space to relax in. And Clint does read to pass the time.” He opened his container up. Of course, he didn’t waste any time to dig in. Then again, he never did. He had quite a fondness for Midgardian foods. “I am also starting to have some interest in some of the Midgard lore that you all have. I recently had picked up a book with creatures known as Loup Garou. They are quite fascinating really. How the moon affects them.”

Steve smiled a bit and shook his head. “Yeah… I heard that term for werewolf. Didn’t you have something like that, though? Fenrir, the Fenris Wolf, or something like that?”

“Yes, we do. But he was not a werewolf. He was a child born in wolven form. We are unsure if he was a shapeshifter, however. It is a strange occurrence, but it happens in the other realms.”

Tony shook his head a bit. “You really need to get into better literature. Seriously, myths and legends are cool, but can be so boring.” He smiled and leaned back as he started to enjoy his meal. Bruce was nice and made sure it was very cheesy. Just how he liked certain meals. “If anything, I can provide these books about Mechs. And for those who don’t know, those are like giant robots. The Hulk Buster that I am working on could actually be called one. Now… those books are pretty cool.” 

Steve laughed lightly. “You are only suggesting that because you like those sci-fi books. If anything, if we are going to get him into literature, we should try and give him different books from different genres. Who knows, he might even find the bible humorous.” He sat down finally. “But if I were to suggest something that I like, I think it would be Septimus Heap. It is a series with the center around this boy named Septimus Heap who was taken as an infant only to find out later that he is a wizard. And his adopted sister is a princess in hiding. It is pretty cool.”

They continued talking about books for a while, Tony and Steve arguing over what would be best to try out. Thor just watched his friends, as if this was a dinner show after a grand victory. He thought it was quite amusing. This was really the only thing the two of them had been doing, arguing over such tiny details. If not for the fact that he knew better, the God would have thought the two would have been dating and didn’t know how to show it. But that wasn’t the fact. The two just didn’t get along too well. They always did have conflicted personalities. The only thing they got along about what who they were interested in. And even then there were some debates. 

By the time Thor was about to finish the last bit of his meal, Steve finally got up and went to get the last bag that was on the counter. He had been trying to keep it that Loki had a meal about the same time every day so he had a bit of a clock to pay attention to. It wasn’t like they gave him a clock or a window. He could simply ask Jarvis about it though it didn’t really seem he understood how the AI worked, he also really just didn’t care. He did enjoy the small amount of company, though.

Loki smiled gently when he saw the blond man coming down once again. And it seemed he had also brought another book. “And what do I have the pleasure of reading this time?” He was genuinely curious with that question. 

Steve looked down at it. “’War of the Worlds’ by H.G. Wells. I actually read it when I was a kid. I didn’t think it was still popular today, though.” He laughed some, and instead of just letting the small door open to slide everything in, he walked into the chamber himself and sat in front of the younger God. He was allowed out now. It was a bit redundant to just stay on the two sides of the exit. He handed the other his meal as well as the book. “Classic Sci-Fi. They even made two movies based on this.”

Loki looked at the back, reading the description some. This definitely was nothing like anything in the realms. It would definitely have an interesting look into what humans thought about other worlds and life from planets that were not their own. It would be saved for later, though. For now, it was set down as he got into the bag to eat. “So, I am to guess that Fury has not yet returned to take me in?” He looked at the blue eyed man.

Steve nodded. It really was the only thing he could do. “I am not sure why he feels like he has to take you, though. You have done nothing wrong as of yet. Other than the snide comments from before, you are well behaved. Even in prison, inmates are given a few… privileges if they are doing well. I don’t see why you can’t be treated a bit better since this isn’t a prison.”

Loki couldn’t help but chuckle at the last part. It was meant to be a prison, and he knew that. He knew that he was meant to be a prisoner in isolation. And he knew that the guards had learned too much about whom he was and what happened to him. He knew that they were showing him far more mercy than anyone else ever would do for him in any of the other realms. In a way, it was just better that he was sent there. He had possibly found allies… some that he wished would treat him as nothing more than what he was. If Thanos found his way there… if they got hurt… he didn’t want something like that to be his fault. He didn’t want that pain.

There was silence as he ate, just wanting to enjoy the quiet. Sure they normally talked, but just having him there was nice as well. Silence… an odd friend. Thoughts could come easier in that whether it was the good or he bad. Plans could be made or certain thoughts straightened out. The silence was very helpful. Though sometimes having someone talk it through was better. That was not the case now.

The silence made brooding on dark thoughts a little easier to deal with as well. It meant that no one would pry and try to dig things up. Loki was unsure if he could do that yet. As much as he wanted to, to let the others know what kind of monster Thanos was, he was having issues. He was appreciative of Tony’s insistence on him not talking about everything, but the fact of the matter remained that he needed to. He didn’t think any information would be out there to even give the slightest hint as to whom they were up against.

After a moment, Loki frowned. “You know… I just recalled that you said you would only be here a month. I think, with how often you come in, it has been more than that.” He looked up at Steve, now curious as to why the other had yet to go home.

The soldier hummed, leaning on his hands some. He looked up at the ceiling as if trying to think of the best way to answer. “Got busy.” He smirked some and looked at Loki again. “You told Tony about someone. We are looking into it.” He sat up straight then, looking around the room some. That place really did seem cold now that he thought about it. It was a good thing that room was being made.

Loki looked at the ground a moment. He was about to let the silence go on, but he let a small sigh out. “You know it is pointless… Why do you think I try to offer my aid?” He felt his heart pick up a little. It always did when he was trying to prepare himself to talk.

But once again, he was stopped from even starting. “We want to exhaust our options first, Loki.” Steve leaned forward to rest his arms on his legs. “You went through something that caused a good deal of damage. We don’t want to cause you harm right now. So, we feel it is best that we try this first.” He tried to give a smile. “We might get lucky, you never know.” Luck… If only the Captain could say he had luck. So far, he didn’t have too much. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been there. He would be in the 20s with his friends instead of the twenty-first century. He really did miss the commandoes. Life wasn’t as full of life without them.

The idea of getting any information, however, was neigh impossible. There was no way to get any, and the young God felt he knew that far too much. If information on the alien was found, it would be a miracle. That was something Loki didn’t believe in much anymore. Most of what he believed were negative thoughts towards himself and everyone around him.

He finished his meal and set the bag near Steve so he could take it with him. He still refused to leave for the time. The prison he was in just felt safer in that time. He was about to go back into silence before he thought of one more question. “Why leave this open? How can you trust me enough to let me out of here?” He looked at the blond as he started to leave.

The man shrugged, though. “You would have to ask Tony that. He was the one who let it stay opened.” With that, he left to throw the trash away.

Loki blinked, far more confused about that now than ever. He never expected Stark to do such a thing. There was no reason for him to leave it open. Sure, he had been listening in to everything the two had said, but that was different from actually having a conversation with someone. Did having that panic attack do that much? No, it had to be something else. But what?

For the first time, he decided to ask the one person who knew the man the most. “Jarvis… What purpose would Stark have to let me walk out of here?” He looked at the ceiling, not sure what else to look at.

The AI didn’t hesitate in the least to answer. It was what Loki had hoped for. “Mr. Stark feels you really are not as much a threat as originally thought,” Loki smirked at that. He was a threat, but he let the AI continue. “He also feels that you would do anything to make sure this ‘Thanos’ character never caught you. In a way, that makes you an ally if it means Thanos will try to kill him and everyone else.” Well, that was no exactly hard to guess. It is true in a sense. It was the next part that got to him, though. “He also relates to you more than most people.”

“What?” The God blinked a bit. He had no idea how anyone could relate to him. 

“Mr. Stark felt as though he was constantly being overshadowed by the things that Howard Stark created. He was always put down, as you were with Odin. In truth, Mr. Stark sees a lot of you in him because of how the two of you were treated. The only time Mr. Stark ever heard anything close to Howard saying he loved his son was years later in a recording after he and Maria Stark were killed. The only difference between the two of you is that Mr. Stark was not adopted.”

Loki was taken aback for a moment. He never thought that any of the Avengers would have the same problem with their parents as he did. Though he did think that no one could know what he felt. He felt alone in those feelings. It was quite a surprise to know that there was someone who actually knew his pain, even if only a little bit. 

He looked down at his hands a moment. He now felt a little lost in his thoughts about that. Though, now that it was in mind, he did remember one other who had issues with his father. But it had been so long since he actually thought of that boy… 

For a moment, he let his mind think about that time he was on Midgard, having fun with that human. 

_I wonder where he is right now…_


	9. The Truth Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another Asgardian comes to give news, though it is both good and really bad news.

The shock that the sky was showing signs that another of Asgard was coming down was quite unexpected for Thor. He had hoped that Heimdall had heard that they needed information from the All-Father and that someone would be sent to deliver the message. So why he was so surprised about hearing the arrival was beyond him. 

He rushed to go meet whoever it was that was there to meet them, hoping it was who he asked for. Steve followed close after once he had been informed about everything as well. Once the two got to the roof, they were greeted by a young woman with dark hair and gorgeous armor. Her glare was the thing that gave away that her being there was not something she wished to be doing. She did not have her sword, nor did she have her shield. She was not comfortable being there without her weaponry. If for some reason a fight occurred, she wouldn’t have her weapons to defend herself with.

Thor took a step forward, smiling lightly when he saw his friend. “Sif, I am glad you could make it. If you are here… that must mean you have news…” He hoped she did. Any kind of news could be grateful. Or at least, he hoped so.

The Goddess looked at the two men who came to greet her before meeting her fellow God’s eyes. “I do have news… And Odin is not pleased with it.” She walked passed them, going straight to the elevator. “Your friends, are they able to meet together?” she turned to the two, who simply followed, not knowing what else to do.

Steve simply nodded. “Jarvis, tell everyone to meet up in the meeting room on floor 26.” It was the best room really for all of them to get together. Thankfully Natasha had come back, trying to convince them that it would be best for them to listen to Fury. As much as she wants to trust them, she just couldn’t trust Loki. She wouldn’t give it up either. So she was definitely around though both she and Clint were banned from entering the room Loki was in. Clint was arguing with himself, wanting to believe that maybe Steve and Tony had a point, but still torn about what he was made to do. That was the only reason he wasn’t allowed in there.

The trip down didn’t take long though it was very tense as Sif barely moved. She looked as though she was getting ready to attack someone. Once the door opened, Steve took the lead, knowing that she wouldn’t know where the meeting room was. This was her first time there as it was.

As they got close, they saw Bruce going in, a book in his hands. It wasn’t like they had much for him to do there. A doctor was not yet needed and Tony was focusing on his suits when he wasn’t looking for information again on the man they were having issues with. So for now, Bruce reads. Maybe a library would be a good idea after all. They did have book worms there.

“Your friends,” Steve blinked when he heard Sif, looking back to the woman. “Have they been talking to Loki as well?” She was looking straight at him. Heimdall must have told her.

The soldier shook his head lightly. “No. Only other one was Tony, but he had a reason to talk to him. Something to do with a condition that is common here on Earth. But since both Thor and Loki didn’t know about it, I am sure you all don’t experience it a lot.” He tried smiling to her, but the frown on her face made him lose it. Looks like she was not on good terms with him currently because he decided to talk to the criminal.

In the room, everyone was sitting at a table. Natasha was looking out the window, as though to avoid looking at anyone. Clint was next to her, just chatting away to distract her just a little bit. It was the least he could do after all.

“Is this everyone then?” Sif looked at Thor, who simply nodded to answer her. She looked down a moment before turning to everyone sitting down. “I am glad to see you all well.” She moved to sit in one of the empty seats. There were plenty on the rounded table, so she didn’t need to worry about a ranking system needing to be respected. “Are you all aware why I am here?”

There were a few nods here and there, though Clint shrugged. He really hadn’t cared much to know what was going on in Asgard. There were more important things to worry about on Earth.

Sif reached under the armor of her vembrace and pulled out a small device. She waited for Thor and Steve to be seated as well before setting the item on the table. “I have never wished to be able to admit that Loki is not a threat compared to this.”

An image appeared, similar to a hologram from the small device that she had carried. It showed a being with purple skin and chillingly blue eyes that almost seemed to glow. His chin looked as though it was fake or something, but for most in the room, a chin that long and smooth looking on the bottom just didn’t look right. There were also the vertical lines that made it look wrong, as though he was supposed to have a beard, but nope, that was his chin. And since the image only showed his bust, it showed armor on his head and shoulders as well. It was all golden with what they could see, though part of the helmet had a bit of a metallic gray over the smoother parts. It guarded his skull as well as shielded his cheeks just a bit, almost like a modified roman helmet. 

“Thanos: the Mad Titan.” Sif looked at the group a moment. “Odin does not know much. He fears the man too much to try and know of him. But I would understand it.” She leaned forward and seemed to press a button on the small device and the image change to a planet. “What we do know is that his home was Titan, a moon on one of your planets. However… Some time ago he killed everyone living on it, including his own mother.” 

Bruce was suddenly paying full attention, his book on the table as well as his glasses. “His own mother? How could he have done that?”

Sif shook her head. “I cannot say. All I know is that he is mad with power and obsessed with pleasing Death. He would destroy an entire galaxy if it meant courting it.”

She was shaken a bit when Tony suddenly laughed. “Court death? We die, so what? Not like he can do anything about it. There is no one to be pleased. We just die, that is it.” He grinned some at the stupidity of it all. He didn’t even notice the unnerved atmosphere that suddenly appeared around the two Gods.

Thor cleared his throat some. “Death… does exist. It is an actual entity that roams the universe. Hel states that it takes on the form of a woman mostly when it must speak to certain people, including the ruler of Niflheim. Death is not just something that happens… Death is a real being. And courting it…” The blond got can only shake his head at the very idea of it.

Natasha blinked, a bit in shock by this. Sure, a murderous alien is one thing. She was used to the idea of people killing everyone, as well as their own parents. But the idea that they are doing it for something like Death, as though it was a God was another thing. But not only that, but Death is a being in the universe? Not just an event that happens in everyday life? The assassin looked at her team and could see that they were having the same thought process. Hell, Tony was the one who looked like he was having the most problems with this. He was an atheist after all. It definitely isn’t just the universe out there anymore.

Thor turned to Sif. He was bothered now by the idea of such a being existing. If Thanos was the threat… “Why have I not heard of him before? I heard the name for the first time when the Captain brought him to my attention.”

At this, all the anger that seemed to be in the warrior seemed to deflate. She was quiet a moment, thinking of the best way to say this. “Odin felt that the farther he made us focus away from Thanos, the better for Asgard. He had no interest in us as far as the All-Father has seen. So he kept the being a secret from everyone, save for Heimdall and your mother.” She looked down a moment. “When Heimdall heard that Loki knew of him, Odin became livid. It was only until both Frigga and the gatekeeper bother swore they spoke nothing of him since his discovery that he realized that…” It took her a moment to get this out. But when there is news about someone hated by many, it was difficult to get out. “Odin realized that Loki could only have known about him if he met the man himself.”

Clint leaned back. “So this isn’t a goose chase. We just don’t have a lot of information to find on this guy.”

Sif nodded and let out a sigh. “All we know is he is dangerous. He tried to destroy his own world after all. And with what we know from Odin, he will do anything to get what he wants. We don’t know his techniques, but if you say that Loki truly is terrified of this man, then we can believe Loki will know more than any of us. Has he spoken of his events?”

Steve shifted now, looking at his hand that was on the table. “He’s not ready.” He clenched his fist a little bit. He knew what Sif would say about that, so he interjected before she could. “We won’t let him talk since it causes problems. Currently, he is in a cold cell. We know he needs to talk, but that isn’t the place to do it.”

Tony suddenly stood up, grinning brightly. “You could help!” He ignored the sudden shock everyone had on their face. “We are setting up a room for him, making him comfortable and safe. The best type of place to talk. But we were wanting to get things from Asgard, to make him feel just a little at home.”

Sif stared at the man a moment and then to Thor for confirmation that they were doing that. The blond God of course nodded. He was helping where he could after all. This left the Goddess thinking a moment. Even with what she knew, what Loki did still nagged at her. It made it difficult to decide if she should help or leave the young God to suffer. But she had priorities. Earth would be in danger now that Thanos had attacked it once already. She couldn’t let Thor’s friends get hurt. So in truth, she had to put her duty before her pride. Loki needed help, so she had a duty to do so if it meant getting what they need.

“He has some books, our history as well as from other realms. I could bring them as well as certain stories.” Maybe those would be good, though more could be done. “I will… ask Odin for aid as well. I am sure he could help figure out what is safe to take. Frigga…” She smiled some and finally looked up. “I may have Frigga come with me if possible. The visit could help.”

Thor smiled as well. It would be nice to see the two reunited for a short. After all, they hadn’t had a nice talk for quite some time. Just her presence could be enough to help the other to reveal some information. Even a small amount would be useful.

Bruce spoke up again, leaning on the table. “So, what if Odin decides to not help? When it comes to Loki, it kind of sounds like he can be a pain.” 

Sif looked at the man a moment. “He will. If it means getting as much information to make a defense, he will. He will not let this realm be destroyed. It is in alliance with our own.” She smiled some. She felt that the Avengers, as well as the rest of the human race, could rely on the All-Father in this time of need. They needed to be prepared. 

Steve nodded a bit and leaned forward, looking at the hologram again. So, they had someone that was as bad as Red Skull. The only difference is one only went for the Earth, the other, the universe. They were the same type of person, though. And just like anyone else, Thanos had a weakness. They just had to find it and use it. No one was invincible. Well… maybe none accept someone like Death. That was going to take a while to get use to; Death being a real person was quite a concept.

Natasha stood up and went to go get a drink from the juice bar in the room. It would have had alcohol in it, but Bruce actually said no to that. He wanted to be a bit more professional in meetings. Unfortunately the assassin wished she had snuck in something like vodka. Hell, even Kahlua would have been good. She didn’t think she liked all this information. It meant that Loki had more to his story than being a mudererous psychopath. In a way, he could have been brain washed and she just did not want to relate to someone like that. She didn’t want to deal with someone who went through what she did.

Clint looked at the ceiling a moment before standing up. “I’m going to go get a drink. Want to join me Tony?” He smiled some to the engineer, who instantly got up. Oh yeah, drinks were definitely needed. The archer then turned to the brunette woman. “Thank you for this information. Is there a way we can keep this?” He motioned to the device. He was grateful when she nodded. “Thanks. Director Fury won’t be happy, but maybe he will leave Loki alone with proof he is… actually telling the truth.” 

As the two men left the room, the Goddess turned to her fellow warrior, a bit confused by the situation. “He was giving you issues?” Honestly, she thought it was strange that he would have problems with the director, at least, after she had met Coulson, may his spirit rest.

Thor shook his head a bit. “He wanted to take Loki where he would never be seen again. I don’t think Father would have been too happy with that. Not serving much of a sentence really if one is sealed away like a secret…” Like a secret… He was definitely seeing the flaw now of keeping things secret. Loki should have known about what he was. Maybe then none of this would have happened. 

Steve stood up, going to get a water bottle. “Tony didn’t allow him to be taken. He set up a good defense. No one really wants to mess with Jarvis and the suits made for him.” The captain had seen the simulations. If he and Thor worked together, they may have had a chance to fight, but it was slim. The AI was pretty good.

“I have not seen this Jarvis yet… Where is he?” Sif wasn’t sure why she saw Bruce smile.

That was until Natasha sat down to explain. “Jarvis isn’t a person. Not of blood and flesh any ways. He is an artificial intelligence that Tony made a while back fashioned after his butler when he was a kid. He would have made it differently, but the man was more of a father figure than his own father. It was a bit of a tribute really.” 

Sif nodded and stood. “I see. Well, if there is nothing else, I think I should head back. I was to only tell you of what is known of Thanos.” She turned to Thor, smiling. “You take care of yourself. Call if you need anything.” She turned to head out, Bruce getting up to follow her out. He was sure she knew the way out, but it was a precaution just in case.

Thor looked up to the other blond. “So, what do you think so far?” He wasn’t too keen on all this, but what choice did they have? It wasn’t like when he had the choice to go to Jotunheim. He could have turned away from that. In order for him to do the same with this, he would have to disappear. That was something he just couldn’t do. He couldn’t abandon his friends and family for this.

Steve was quiet for a long moment. He was thinking of the best things for them to do. “Right now, focus on getting that room ready for Loki. We will need him. Natasha, you need to take that device and give it to Fury, let him know we were not following a goose and that the Asgardians do know of his existence.” They needed to make sure the director wouldn’t try to get the being again. Now that they do know that Thanos was real there was no way Loki could be kept hidden away.

Natasha nodded and grabbed the small device that was left there for them. The sooner it was delivered the better. She didn’t even finish her drink. More important things to worry about. 

Thor stood up after a moment. “Should I go after Sif? Help bring things from Asgard?” He was sure the Goddess could handle things herself. After all, she was one of the most reliable that the realm had. Without her, surely the world would have crumbled long ago.

“No, I need you to stay here for the time, help Tony finish the room.” The soldier smiled some, finally looking up. “You know Loki better than anyone here. It would be nice to know we got things set up well before we move him in. None of us can have that connection.” None of them, no matter how much they talked, could know Loki as much as his own brother.

That statement made the God of Thunder smile. He never thought he would be that useful to his younger brother, not since the fall, not since he tried to save his brother and bring him back home. Maybe this was his chance to be as helpful as he could be for the other. It was about time too. There really was no other time he could think of for this kind of chance. 

Thor nodded to the other, silently thanking him for that, and then turned to walk out. He wanted to double check the room. The bed was almost done, so he wanted to just make sure everything was in place. Besides that, the books had come in just an hour before Sif arrived. He needed to make sure they were in order before he could even think about giving the okay for the room. The books were probably going to be the most important thing as it was.

Steve smiled a bit before turning to the window in the room. He didn’t like the situation that the Avengers were in. It was worse than last time. This wasn’t just a small threat that they could get out of the way. This was something that could affect the entire world if things went right for Thanos.

Down below, people walked down the street, doing their normal lives. No one was aware of the big picture. Sure, there were super heroes there to save the day, but they were not even thinking about the fact that something could be out there that even those heroes couldn’t face. While there was always something to fight, there was also one thing that could beat someone down. There is always a kryptonite. And this may just be it. 

“Please don’t let us fail this time either…” Steve turned from the window and headed out to go to his room. He needed to work some things out now. It was best to be in his own space rather than in there.


	10. More than Deserved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is finally time to give Loki his room. The reaction wasn't exactly expected.

It took a few more days before everything was set up and ready. Everyone was anxious for this moment. The books were in order, all hardbound. And then there are the eighteen books that Odin said were safe for Loki to have from his own personal library of a bedroom. A few plants were brought in as well, including one that grew over the windows, even though there was nothing for it to hold on too. Another plant was set in there and actually filled the room with certain smells depending on the atmosphere in the room. The final plant was brought in by Frigga herself. It looked pretty simple, but the water that drips off the leaves could help in healing a wound that might have been seen as life threatening. It was still something that could show the woman cared.

Speaking of, the Goddess stood in the room, looking around with a smile. Thor was sitting in a chair, one fashioned similar to one that looked like it belonged in Asgard. The desk that they decided to set up was the same. Frigga had decided to bring some writing supplies for her young son. He may not have been in the habit of it, but at least, he had something. Maybe it would make it easier for him if he didn’t have to talk out right. That was what she had been thinking about. This was important. Anything she could do to make Loki more comfortable. 

“I almost feel like I am in his room in Asgard. Almost.” Frigga smiled to the blond man in the room, moving to grasp his hands tightly into her own. “Are you sure you wish me to retrieve him? You put a lot of effort in making this room perfect. I would think you wanted to see his reaction.”

Thor shook his head as he stood up, looking down to his mother. Oh, how she has aged in such a short time. When Loki had fallen her whole world had fallen apart. She had thought she lost her son. And then when he was back and all those crimes he had set upon his shoulders with them, the stress was enough to kill a human. She was heartbroken when she couldn’t just talk to him and ask why? And then she couldn’t hold him, comfort him from any harm that came his way. She could no longer protect her child. No matter what he did, no matter the fact she never held him in her womb, feeling him grow inside of her, he was still her child. If anyone could help him now it was the one who never turned her back on him.

The elder nodded and moved to hug Thor, glad she was being given this chance to do more. They both could, hopefully, do what Loki had needed the entire time and then some. After a moment of silence, she turned towards the door. Everyone had been told to avoid the halls while she was there. It was more to help Loki feel a little more comfortable there than having someone glare at him. Though there were a few who wouldn’t. But it was a precaution. 

Thor left the room for a bit, thinking that if he were to be seen by his brother then it might not end well. For now, he would be in his own room so there was privacy between the mother and her son. She would tell him later if everything went well enough in there.

Frigga was quiet as she stepped, ever light footed when nothing urgent was afoot. She was able to relax as she walked toward the elevator to go to the main floor. She had been shown where everything was when she first came. Thor had made sure she had a nice tour of the place. Something about a friend just loved things being showed off. She was never taken to the chamber that her son was placed. She was meant as a surprise and she was hoping to keep it as such. 

She looked around the place. It was a little interesting to see how the humans built things compared to the Asgardians. Most of what the Gods had were of marble or gold with much stone for those who were not in the palace. Decorations were extravagant and finally made to look like different scenes. Here, things are a little more plain, or sometimes much more abstract. Sometimes, she would see a balance of both. The scenes she could see tended to be paintings that adorned the walls, such as the large one in the entry way of an enormous field with some deer and a stream. It was a very relaxing way to enter.

But where she was heading, she knew there would be no designs like that. She knew it would be cold and unsettling. There would be no glee to speak of. There would only be stone and metal and glass. She knew what to expect. It was just like the prisons in Asgard. By what Thor said, the only difference was the shape and size. In looks at least. He wouldn’t describe what it was that the prison did that was so different. He didn’t want to upset her since they were removing Loki from there. There were no reasons to worry her at all. 

So she took her soft steps down, barely making a sound as she went. She barely noted the closed blinds on the workshop, the engineer preferring to hide in there rather than hiding somewhere in his room. For each their own. She heard that two of the Avengers decided it was better to go train together to let off steam. They were the most at unease with the Trickster there, whether what had happened to Loki, or what he had done. Hopefully, this would be quite a change for them. Hopefully, they could help their fiend become a friend.

“Mother…?” She looked up when she heard that name. The door was open, just as Thor said it was, and the chamber really was like the ones in Asgard, just round and larger. Of course, they had glass instead of a barrier. But it really did look just like the prisons. 

Her son was standing now, surprised to see her. He must have been trying to figure out whether he was dreaming or not since she was there. The shock made him look a bit like a child, still young and curious in his years. He looked well at least. He looked like he had slept and was being fed. She would have thought that he would be having difficulties there, in the beginning of this all anyways. She knew they would treat him better now that they knew the truth of the matter. But the fact still remained. 

Frigga walked forward towards the prison to stand in front of the doorway. “Odin gave me permission to come here. As much as it displeased him, he thought my presence could help.” She reached her hand out to Loki, smiling lightly. She hoped that he would come with her. He had some free will here, and yet he remained in there, in a cold place where it felt like all the love in the world was being sucked out.

Loki looked at her a moment, not really sure what to say or do. His mother was there in Midgard. To him, that should have been an impossibility. Odin wanted her by his side at all times, unless there was a battle. Then he wanted her at home in case something happened to him so that she could rule until Thor was ready for the throne. Her survival was important for the kingdom. At least, that was how he saw it. Out of everyone, Frigga was the most important person to him. Not only was she his wife, but she was his best advisor.

Loki didn’t get his love for knowledge and strategy from Odin that was for sure. He looked up to his mother so much that he learned to fight from her, learned about strategy from her. He learned that sometimes knowing about something could be a lot more useful than just taking action. It was why he became so close to her.

Her being there… He would have smiled if not for the fact he was sure he was dreaming, that he would wake and still be alone as he had been unless Steve came down to visit him. But even still, he took a hesitant step forward to take her hand gently. Since he was still unsure about the powers from his heritage, he was afraid that he might hurt her. He felt her warmth, he saw her shiver a bit at how cold his own hands were. If this was a dream, she really shouldn’t have reacted. He wouldn’t have been thinking about how cold he was compared to everyone else. Because of this, he took another step forward. 

There was warmth when she hugged back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Loki could feel that she was being protective, no longer wanting to let him go. She lost him once. She didn’t want to risk losing him again. Losing him once was hard enough. 

There was nothing but silence for those few beats. The two just held one another, afraid that if they let go, the other would disappear. But there was a job to be done, and Frigga knew it. It was best to take care of this elsewhere. She reluctantly pulled away. She couldn’t help but smile up to the young God. She had to reach up and wipe some tears that started to glisten on his cheeks. “Come. I have something to show you.” She took his hand in her own and started to lead him out.

There was hesitation in his steps. Even though he knew he had some freedom, actually taking it was a whole different story. He was afraid that he would be attacked. No matter how much he felt that wouldn’t happen there was still fear of it. He looked around some, making sure there were no traps. He saw none. All he saw were camera’s here and there. Nothing else appeared to be waiting for him.

He was lead to the elevator, and once again felt odd being in there with no chains and nothing to block his ability to speak. He looked up as the elevator started to move, shifting some. “Where are we going?” He looked to his mother, hoping she could, at least, explain what was going on. He didn’t like surprises much anymore. They had started to turn nasty as of late. At least, when Steve was not really involved.

Frigga shook her head some. “If I said, I think Thor would be slightly disappointed.” She smiled lightly at the frown that took the man’s lips. “He wanted you to be surprised. He tried very hard with this… He feels as though he needs to finally do something right for once.” She squeezed the hand a little, not yet letting go of it. She looked to the door. “Just trust me on this. You have gone through so much. I think it is time for a small change of direction.” 

Loki swallowed hard but said nothing more. He watched the numbers until they finally stopped. He was surprised that the room was on the same floor as Tony’s. He wasn’t expecting they were going there. Was it something in the smaller man’s room? He didn’t see that as likely, but it was possible. 

But once they entered, he saw that it wasn’t in the engineer’s room. No, it was in the opposite direction. The God blinked a bit as he continued to follow his mother. She led him to a room, the door slightly ajar. Frigga opened it for him, and what he saw…

Well, for once his silver tongue did, in fact, turn to lead. He had no words to say when he saw the books lining the wall and the plants that he had recognized were in fact from Asgard. He didn’t know what to say to the large bed with black sheets and mahogany frame. In fact, all the wood was mahogany. He could see that at least. But the designs etched into the surface almost looked as though they came from home. Some had runes carved into them as well as beasts from some tales that he could recall. He walked in and started to run his hands over to many books. They were not of Asgard, he could tell by the titles, but it seemed as if they had all been rebound to look as if they were. They looked old fashion. Then there were the few that he did spot that were from home. They looked as if they were from his personal library.

Loki finally looked at Frigga. “Mother… Is this…?” He looked around the room, not sure what to say. He was shocked that any of this had been made. And with the setup, he knew who it was for.

“Your… friends...” She smiled at the thought. “They knew of your struggles and thought it best to make you feel at home. To make you feel safer than somewhere you would feel nothing for.” She walked to the plant that let of scents. It was giving a sweet one out, like honey almost. “They wanted you as comfortable as possible. Thor helped far more with this room than I had ever seen him help anywhere else. He was very frustrating to Tony.”

She looked up again, and her glad smile softened a bit as she saw, even more, tears streaming down Loki’s cheeks. This was quite a lot for him. For so long he must have felt such betrayal. And now he was being given a gift that he never thought he would have. She walked over and hugged her son once again. His arms wrapped around her tightly. She could feel him trembling.

“I don’t deserve this… Why are they giving this to me…?” He sounded so broken. There were no masks now. There was no trickery. He was allowing for his pain to show through.

It broke his mother’s heart to hear him like this. How much did he hide his pain? How long did he feel he couldn’t let anyone see? How long did she not get the chance to let him speak up and let everything out? It was times like that that made her question what kind of mother she was to let her child hurt so much. However, she had to remember that he sometimes was too good of a liar.

She finally pulled away. “Loki…” She placed his cheeks into the palm of her hands, making him look up at her. “Too long have you been in the dark about everything. And it caused you such pain. You deserve this because we couldn’t help you when you really needed it. We have the chance. And that is what Thor is determined to do. He wants to be there for you this time.” She pulled his head down a bit, so she could kiss his head lightly. “He wants to be the brother that he neglected to be.

“The Avengers know you want to help them, now. They have proof that you do not lie about Thanos.” She saw him flinch at that. Oh, how she wants to hide him away so he would never fear that name again. “They are giving this place to you for a sense of ease. So that when you are ready, it would be easier to let things out. They are here to help as much as you wish to do the same.” Even if it is for selfish reasons, even if Loki just wants to save himself, they would let him talk and they would listen.

It was about time that he was listened to. And it was about time that he had a chance to be truthful about it. He didn’t need to hide.

Slowly, she moved him over to the bed, setting him down on it. He seemed tired as it was. He looked at the floor a bit, shaking his head lightly. “I can’t believe they would do this for me… After what I did…” 

Frigga sat next to him, running her hand through his hair. It felt as though he needed to have a good wash. Being in that prison for long must have built up some grime of some sort. At least, he had his own bathroom for that. “I talked to Steve. It sounded as though you two had started to get close. And that he and Tony were the ones who made the connection that you had only been manipulated. If you were being used, then your crime is just that of a puppet. They cannot blame you completely.” 

Loki shook his head some. “I controlled their friend. I killed people. I tried to kill them.” He ran a hand through his hair. He was so confused. This room… How could they give him his own room? How could they try and make him feel at home?

His mother sighed lightly. “I believe the answer would be the same…” Odin would not like hearing about this too much. As much as Loki is seen as nothing but a criminal, his thoughts showed just how much he didn’t want to do anything. “Maybe you should ask them of this later… For now… I believe you could use a good sleep.” She stood up and kissed his head lightly once more. “Rest for now. I will be staying here for another day.” She had to. She saw how much Loki needed his mother.

The young God nodded. Maybe she was right. Maybe he could use some sleep first before really asking some questions about motive. He shifted so that he was lying down. He didn’t bother with blankets since he was still fully clothed. Even so, the bed was soft and had a nice cushion to it. It was definitely the opposite of the floor in his prison. He fell asleep nearly immediately.

Frigga watched him for a moment. She noted the fact that even in sleep he didn’t look at ease. He was so tormented that he couldn’t sleep in peace. She turned and walked out, wiping some tears of her own away from her eyes. She walked to the room that she was told to head too once she left her son alone. It was a guest bedroom, so it was simple. Nothing but a bed and small dresser in there. She set herself on the side of the bed, to think for a moment before she heard the knock on the door.

She granted them permission to enter. It was no surprise that the engineer and the doctor were there first. It was their floor that she was on. They both looked very worried. 

Tony smiled some. “So, how did he like the room? Was it alright?” He leaned on the dresser while Bruce went to stay by the window. The room would get crowded in a bit, so he wanted to avoid the door. 

Frigga looked at her hands. “I think he loved it. He could barely speak when he saw what you had done.” The look of shock was still plastered in her mind. How something like that can do so much… She was quite saddened to see such a reaction. Just given a room and it is almost like he was given a precious gift from a lover. 

Tony sighed in relief. It was then that the second knock turned up, this time, Thor walking in. The engineer grinned some. “We did good for the room.”

Thor smiled lightly and walked in, sitting next to his mother. He could see that she seemed a little off. 

Before the door could close completely, Natasha walked in. “The other two are coming. They were sparing so they are getting cleaned up.” She walked to the dresser and hopped up on it. “How’s little boy blue?” She had to try and not smirk as Tony chuckled a bit. Normally that was his thing, so her saying something like that was weird. It was a nice way to break some tension.

The Goddess let out a small sigh. “I think I will wait until everyone is here. I don’t think I would do well repeating myself.” She was glad for the comfort that Thor was giving her. He was so warm. Nothing like his brother. The two were so different now. Ever since Loki killed Laufey he was like ice. It was almost like his body was saying he had rights to the throne of Jotunheim. He would never take it, though. Not with how Odin had raised him.

It took a little longer before the final knock came. The two men came in, showered and dressed in something that they could easily get out of for bed. Clint went to go sit next to Natasha while Steve went to the window near a corner. Everyone was there now.

Frigga let out a soft sigh as she moved her hand to place it over Thor’s. "I have never wanted to see either of you so broken… So torn apart…” She shook her head lightly. “Now I have seen both of you as such. Just, your brother is going to need a lot to be repaired. Small promises can’t give him strength…” She leaned her head to the side to rest on Thor’s shoulder. 

Thor frowned at that, placing the arm closest to his mother around the woman in a partial hug. He had remembered how they had to give him courage that he would see Jane again, that though the chances were slim, that Loki may have survived his fall into the abyss. Those promises came to fruition, though. He encountered his brother not long after. And with the Bi-Frost completely rebuilt he could visit Jane if he had not been busy taking care of his brother while imprisoned. But he could go and see her if he wished. 

But with Loki, what promises could they make to make him feel stronger? They knew nothing of Thanos. If they tried to promise, it could just break the younger God more. 

Steve smiled, though. “Well… I can think of a pretty big promise that I plan on keeping.” Everyone turned to him, confused. The man looked at them all. “He’s a victim, just like who he attacked were. He was used as nothing but a tool, just like a lot of the soldiers were in World War II.” He had seen the images and read the reports. He knew how the soldiers that worked under Hitler had no idea about what the man was allowing, what the scientists were doing. He knew how Germany treated the holocaust as though it were a plague. He knew about the regret that the men felt. “Now that he is in the clear and no longer in control, I’m not leaving his side. He needs some support and I plan to be there for him.”

Frigga smiled some. That was no small promise. She could see that this man wouldn’t lie like that. He would only lie when it was needed.

But then Tony spoke up. “And I can definitely be someone he can talk to and I would understand him. All of you know the relationship between me and Howard. Then there is me and Obadiah. If anything, he and I are the most alike.” He looked at the group. Natasha actually had a look like she knew that was the truth. Tony looked at Frigga with a smirk. “Who knows, maybe me talking to the red headed step child could help.

Both Frigga and Thor frowned at him. Of course, neither of them had any idea what that meant. Clint had to let out a laugh at that. Tony really needed to stop making up these nicknames that made no sense to the Gods of Asgard. “It is a phrase we use here a lot, that no one wants a red head as a step child. With how Odin treated Loki, it is like our phrase a bit. Don’t take it to heart.” Clint leaned back, folding his arms some. 

Frigga shook her head a bit though she let out a small chuckle. Well… with how Odin was treating him now. When Loki was younger he treated both boys as though they were the most precious things he could possibly think of. He talked often about how the two of them grew, how the two of them prospered. How she missed those days when they all could smile easily.

Natasha hopped off the dresser, stretching. “I can promise him I can help him learn those powers of his. Give him someone to train with.” Everyone stared at her, eyes wide. She just shrugged. “Entire regimes fall every day. But every day someone changes sides. Might just be time for us to make a different call.” She looked over to Clint, who just smirked.

Thor smiled to the assassin, glad she was finally getting over her anger of the being. “I can’t give him much, but I do hope he realizes that he has his brother back. After this, I don’t think it will be that easy to get rid of me.” He grinned then, the youthful grin that hadn’t been seen since before Thor had to fight the Destroyer. It was quite relieving to see that once more. If only, it could stay far longer this time.

Bruce had to chuckle a bit and look at everyone. “I didn’t think we would start up a promise basket for him. I mean, maybe the promise that we would support him, but one from each of us?” He shook his head at that.

Tony shrugged. “Hey, a promise from each of us isn’t too bad. Just means he has more to look forward too. He has something that he can trust each of us with.” It was just better that way. Instead of wondering who was forced into the promise, he has one from each person, one that they each chose to do. And by keeping the promise, they are showing that they won’t abandon him, won’t leave him in the dust. He would have people that he could rely on. That was why it was better for them all to make one for themselves.

Bruce sighed a bit and leaned on the window. “Well, I can’t give him much. I didn’t deal with him. All I can give him is my oath as a doctor, to not harm but to heal no matter what.” Just because he had the other guy didn’t make the oath obsolete with him. Both he and the Hulk knew that they were in a way separate people. So while the Hulk did harm, Bruce did what he could to repair the damage.

Everyone was agreeing that the small promise Bruce gave was alright when they heard the one thing that actually was more surprising that Natasha setting her anger aside. For a moment, they all had to digest what exactly was said and then who actually said it.

“I can promise that I forgive him.” Everyone had to turn to Clint, some with wide eyes and jaws dropped slightly. As torn as he was from trying to figure out if Loki was good or not, they didn’t think he would let go so easily about what Loki did to him. 

He looked up at them. Didn’t seem he was fazed by their surprise. “I have been thinking a long time about it. Even before he was brought here… I just had a harder time accepting it while he was under our feet.” He slid off the dresser and headed for the door. “Knowing what happened, I can’t really hold anything against him. So… I forgive him.” With that, the archer headed out of the room. 

Steve looked at Natasha, hoping that she could shed some light on that, but she just shook her head. Not even she knew what he had been thinking about that entire time.

Bruce laughed a bit after a moment and shook his head. “If anything, I think that would be the best thing other than having his brother back. Clint wins.” He knew they were not doing a contest, but it was still a bit humorous. He started for the door himself, ready to head to bed. 

Frigga looked at the remaining people in the room, smiling at them. “Thank you all for doing this. I really was afraid that he would never have people to care for him again.” She looked back at Thor, who just nodded. She could see the guilt that he had for turning his back on his brother when the other needed it most. When Loki needed someone to stop and say ‘Just speak to me, what do you really want?’

Tony went to the bed and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Ma’am. Don’t worry. Your son is in good hands.” He looked over to Steve as the man snorted. “Oh, come on. You take care of him most. I don’t know if anyone is better than you. Though I don’t know how well your hands are…”

“Okay, let’s not go there, Stark. Get going and get to bed. You haven’t slept in two days.” Steve grinned some as he moved to shove his friend out of there. 

With that, it seemed it was time for everyone to leave and let the mother have her peace. Thor gave her a kiss on the cheek before bidding her good night and heading to his own room that was given to him on the floor just above everyone else. He was the last one out, so he shut the door behind himself so that there was nothing but the light and the window to give her company.

Frigga stood a moment and went to the window to look out to the city. It felt familiar, like in Asgard. This time, however, she felt heavy with regret.


	11. Difficulties Getting Out of the Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki is getting adjusted to his new room, though it is still very hard to take in, even with his mother's reassurance.

Sleeping on the floor wasn’t so bad after a while. Once the body got used to the hard surface, it didn’t matter much how one would sleep there. But after so long, sleeping in something as soft as a normal bed felt really unusual. There was almost a fear of falling through it. Thankfully that wasn’t the case. There was a real comfort in such a thing that Loki didn’t want to move or get up. He was awake, though. He had woken up just as the light started to stream through the leaves covering the window. He noticed that the room smelt of a garden, full of flowers and sweet fruits which aided in him waking up just a little more.

Those green eyes of his opened up to look up at the door. It was closed, and he could tell he was alone in there. He sat up slowly so that he could look around. It felt so strange being there. If not for the size, he may have mistaken this for his room in Asgard at first. He had to admit, the Avengers really had been considerate in what they designed. It was still quite a shock to him that they went to the effort. 

He stood up and went to the bookshelf. Pulling one of the books out revealed golden writing to show the title. Going through the pages was the only proof to show where this was made. In the home of the Gods, all books were handwritten. This was finally printed with a machine. The pages themselves were nice and smooth rather than slightly crooked at the sides. As much as they could have made pages like this, Asgard preferred the touch of hands over the work of a machine. It made things more available. There was no shortage of jobs really. 

He smiled some, however. The thought was still nice. He put the book back and looked at the titles, noticing some didn’t much make sense, while others were straight forward. Some he could tell were names, like ‘Eragon’, while others were more practical, like ‘Great Gardening Formulas’. Why he was given that one, he had no idea, but it was humorous none the less. Then there were some like ‘A Diet to Die For’. That one he would have to read to find out why a book would be named such a thing.

But even still, he turned to head to the bathroom. He smiled some as he noticed the work in there. The mirror in there was enough to see what he looked like, and the frame had animals carved into it similar to those in the seas. There was a serpent that ran over the top, trying to eat a fish as it swam after a hook. There was also a beast that was similar to the leviathans of old stories he read. Its thin body and spine back flowing over the edge, a crown adorning the head. It was quite lovely to look at. The entire thing looked silver which matched the bathroom a little more. He smiled some. Such details for his room.

He turned then to go look into the closet to see what was given to him. It was completely full. He looked through it, looking at the different things that were available for him. It was amusing what all they gave him. He sifted through a bit before deciding just dress pants and a dress shirt would be fine. He grabbed those and headed to the bathroom, getting the shower set up before he had a chance to get undressed from his armor.

A few hisses filled the room, though. Removing those were painful anymore. There was a nasty looking scar on his shoulder. It never did heal right. But then again, something like that normally doesn’t. 

Loki shuttered at the thought before slipping into the shower to bathe. He didn’t want to think about that. He didn’t want to remember at the moment. He needed to save that…

After a while of enjoying the non-stop heat, he finally stepped out and got dried and dressed. The clothing fit perfectly. It was nice to feel clean and in clean clothes. He looked down at the ones that he had just been in, not sure what to do with them just yet.

It was about then that the second presence in the room was noticed. Loki narrowed his eyes some before moving forward. At first, there was a tenseness in his body. But once he saw that it was Stark, he managed to relax. The man was just sitting in the chair near the desk. And by the smell of it, he brought in something for the God to eat.

“I am surprised it is you and not Steve to come greet me…” Loki walked forward into the bedroom, sitting on the bed since there were no other chairs available in there. He might ask for that later… But it is fine for now. He never had another chair in his room before as it was.

Tony looked up at the other when he had spoken up and smirked before grabbing the plate and handing it to him. “Well… I kind of wanted to know what you think about the room. I mean, your mom told us, but I wanted to hear it from you.” He crossed his legs and leaned back as he turned the chair. He had designed it so that it could easily spin. Much more fascinating than having to move the entire thing.

Loki nodded some as he took a bite of the meal. It seemed to be a breakfast burrito with some sausage and onions. He could definitely see the egg, though. He finished his first bite before looking around. “It is quite impressive… It is difficult to tell if I am in Asgard or here on Midgard, really…” He looked at the bookshelf a moment. “I have plenty to read though I fear that I would have them all read by the end of the month.” 

The engineer laughed some. “Not a problem. When you get close to finishing them I can always order some new books in. That will not be a problem at all.” He smiled and looked around a bit himself. “And the clothes? Since you are a prince and all, I thought suits would be more to your liking than just casual clothes. Though Thor likes t-shirts a bit. Not an issue at all.” 

“They are fine. Thank you…” He lost the smile at the mention of the God. He was still trying to think about how Thor could so easily help him like this. It just really didn’t make sense. Not after he had stabbed the older on top of the tower. “My mother… is she…”

Tony nodded. He knew the man would wonder about her. It seemed they were pretty damn close after all. She was so worried for her boys. “She is in the kitchen with everyone else. Great lady. Reminds me of my mother almost.”

Loki frowned just a bit. “I thought your mother was-“ He stopped himself when he saw the sour look in the other’s eyes. “Apologies.” He had heard about the car accident. That was one thing that Barton had told him of, that they didn’t need to worry about Howard Stark or his wife. He didn’t mean to bring anything painful up. He cleared his throat some and finished the first burrito that he had grabbed. Best to keep himself busy somehow.

There was an awkward silence now. The room started to smell a bit like a wet dog. Of course, that would be what it smelt like with that plant in there. How a wet dog could be an awkward smell was not really understandable. But if that is what the plant thought was awkward, so be it.

Tony looked at the plant a moment, pursing his lips just a little bit. “That is a weird plant.” He smiled as he heard the chuckled from the other. At least, there was a chuckle. It got some of the tension out of the air at the very least. That made it start to go back to honey. “How does it do that? Honestly?”

“There is a chemical in the heart of the plant that is sensitive the atmosphere. In truth, I had one in the library and it always smelt of the fruit fields. Don’t dare get angered around it, though. Then is smells of something rotten.” Loki leaned back some, smiling. “Thor and I got into an argument when we were young and suddenly the entire room smelt of freshly opened Skraeling that had been left to rot in the sun. It was horrendous.”

Tony closed his eyes a moment, then shook it some. Sometimes, being from two different worlds, one being very open to the other words and the other only recently knowing about them, left a lot of language barriers. And he was not so sure he wanted to know what the hell a Skraeling was. They didn’t sound pretty at all. Though nothing really did in all honesty.

But that small moment caused another chuckle at least. The man let out a sigh and stood. “I should go and get your mother, bring her up so you two can talk. She does have to head back soon.” And he really didn’t want the two to miss this small opportunity to converse and reunite. Who knew how long it would be until Odin allowed the two to see one another again.

Loki simply nodded and continued to eat. He would have just followed, but he wanted to stay there for a while. It would just be better if he did so. At least for now. He looked out the window, looking at the skies in between the vines. 

Everything was blue out there. There were no signs of clouds anywhere. A few of the taller buildings could be seen from that level, and a little off, the Statue of Liberty. There wasn’t the best view of the waters nearby, but it was a good enough view that it was enjoyable. It wasn’t like Asgard though. Asgard was much more golden. This was nothing like Asgard really. There was no bridge hanging over the edge of the waters. But there were similarities. There were many large building, just as Asgard had.

It was a small similarity, but it was a nice one. Unfortunately, it was not enough to feel at peace. There was still that nagging feeling that there was a danger. No matter how much the room smelt of a garden, or like honey, there was always a sense that something was out there. There was no true safety no matter where someone would hide that was being hunted down.

_…there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he can't find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain._

Loki set the plate to the side as those words went through his mind once more. He curled his legs up and buried his head into his knees. Those words were still circling him. He knew pain… He knew emotional and physical pain. He knew what it was like to hurt. But he was scared as of what could happen to him once he was found. He would be found. There was no way he could hide now.

“What could cause you to hide like this…?” Loki’s eyes shot open when he heard the sweet voice. He looked up to see the woman who raised him. He never even realized that she had opened the door. 

The mother walked forward and sat down on the bed, moving to wrap her arms tightly around the young God. He was shaking. “Tell… What is ailing you, Loki…?” She kissed his head lightly, just trying to calm him down. But it wasn’t that easy to get it out of him. She knew it wasn’t, especially when he shook his head. She ran a hand through his hair lightly. “My dear young one…” She moved away just enough to look at him, look at his haunted eyes. “I am not asking you to tell me all. I do not expect you to tell me all… But what is it that haunts you now, in this moment…?” She placed her hand on his cheek, letting him lean into her palm.

Loki let out a shaken breath as he looked at the woman. The room was feeling colder as his fear started to react with his abilities. He could tell since her breath was starting to be seen. “Thanos won’t kill me…” He lifted his hand up and placed it over hers. “Killing me would be too easy… He will find me, and he will torture me… He will make me suffer worse than the agony I felt when I found out what I really was…” He saw his vision blur as tears started to form once again.

Frigga frowned sadly. So much fear… No child should feel something like that. No child of hers should have to fear something so much and be so sure of it. She wiped away a tear with her thumb as it slid over his cheek. “I have faith that your brother would prevent any such thing from happening… And the others will protect you.”

The God shook his head, letting out a small sob. “They would rather me dead before they protected me. I saw the looks in their eyes…”

“But they know the truth now. They know the situation, that you had no choice in your invasion.” Frigga smiled lightly. “They are willing to give their anger up and aid you. And you have even been forgiven by the man, Clint.” She couldn’t help but give out a small chuckle at the shocked reaction that gave. “And they have even allowed you the freedom to train in your Jotun powers so that you have the ability to defend yourself. They will help you now. They will protect you as you are a victim of a madman.”

Loki looked at her a moment, looking to see if there was a lie in her features. But there was nothing. She was telling the truth. He let out a shaken breath and moved to hug her once more, wanting to feel safe like when he had been a kid. He never had to fear anything when he was in his mother’s arms. Frigga would never let anything happen to him or Thor when she held them so close.

She held him tightly, letting him cry once again into her shoulder this time. She ran her hand through his hair lightly. He had so much to let out. There was so much pain for him to cry out. This was just the start he needed to let himself recover, to get the emotions that were neglected out and in the open. No one should have to hold everything in. They deserved to let it out. 

“It’s alright. I am right here.” Frigga smiled as she thought about how much he needed someone. She could only hope the others could get through to him as she could. He couldn’t hold it in for much longer.

\---

Tony was putting the dishes in the dishwasher when he heard the movement of fabric move near the entrance. He let a smile grace his lips as he looked up at the woman. She looked a mess now. She must have been trying her best to not cry while comforting her son. “How’s he doing? Other than a royal train wreck, that is.”

The woman shook her head some. At least, he was attempting some humor. It was nice how unbothered he was by this. It made things not so tense. It was nice. She walked in and sat down. “I left him with his books. He may fall asleep again once he finishes the breakfast you gave him.” She thanked him quietly as he had gotten her some water. “You described to me what could be signs of a panic attack. I think I walked in before he had gone into one.”

The engineer hummed a bit and looked down. “Sorry, you had to walk into that one.” He smiled lightly and took her frail looking hand into his own once he was sitting next to her. He could feel the strength in those figures when she squeezed his. No matter how frail she looked, she was still very strong. Had to be a perk of being a God.

Frigga just smiled lightly at him before moving to hug him. “I hope you all can help him. I fear Thor can only do so much.”

Tony was stunned at the hug. He blinked and then let off a small smile as he awkwardly hugged her back. “No problem, then. Don’t worry. He is in good hands.” Sure they were mostly fighters, but that could do more for the man than most. They could understand survival. They could understand doing things because life was in the balance. Loki just took a path that some of them would never think.

Steve tried to take his own life for the sake of America while he himself found a way to get out of something without putting people into more danger. There really was nothing new to them now. They could do what they could to help him out.

Frigga finally pulled away. “I really do wish he had people like you when he found out the truth. I believe he could have been able to adjust better than he did.” 

Tony frowned and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it now. We will take care of him in the now. Can’t do anything about the past. And I would rather not worry about it. That kind of stuff has kicked me in the ass once before.” He chuckled a bit.

The Goddess nodded some. “You are right. Thank you…” She stood up. “I better take my leave…”

Tony could just nod to her as she stepped out, heading to say her good-bye to her elder son. This left the engineer to think on the next step to be.


	12. A Comfort of Another's Torment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony decides to comfort Loki some only to make the God have a crucial realization.

Tony headed up to the bedroom once everything was set up to be washed. All that was left was the plate that Loki had. Once that was gotten then the machine could be started up and everything set to go. He never really liked being in charge of dishes, but the Avengers agreed to take turns on that. There were a lot they agreed on. Once a week, the team would dust and clean as well as who makes sure certain electronics still work or didn’t need new batteries. It was small things, but it was meant to build a little bit of teamwork.

At least, it worked for the most part. Thor helped a lot with the heavy lifting since he just needed one arm to actually lift anything up. Steve was a big help with that too. And then when they had to work with each other. It was surprising how cleaning seemed so small, yet it really did help them work with one another. 

It seemed pretty stupid, but maybe Loki could join them eventually. After all, he needed a place there too. Eventually, anyhow. He couldn’t just be a guide to the mind of the man who controlled him. That just wouldn’t work eventually. Soon they would have everything they needed to know and then there would be nothing for the man to do. He would just be there. And if he didn’t come out of the room then he would just make himself a prisoner with no true prison keeping him in. And really, that was just a pathetic thing to do. Loki was too proud. The only reason he had to turn to something like that is if he really was that distraught over everything. 

The engineer really hoped that would not be the case. He couldn’t stand the idea of the God being too far gone to be really helped. It would just show how much the enemy could really destroy a person. Honestly, they wanted to have something good happen. That would have been a really bad sign if that was the case. He didn’t want to deal with anything like that. If they had a chance, that was what he wanted to deal with. Otherwise, why should they fight? They would be screwed otherwise.

He walked over to the door once the elevator was opened up. Maybe he and Loki could just talk a bit before he had to take the dish out of there to get cleaned up. Lightly, he knocked on the door and waited for the okay to come it. It was quiet, but there was a small response on the other side.

Tony walked in and was glad to see that the desk was being utilized. Loki was sitting there, writing on some of the paper. He must have felt like that could help a little better than anything else. “So, how was breakfast?” He sat on the bed, leaning back.

Loki didn’t look up. He just wrote down some more. It looked like his hand was shaking a little bit as it went across the table. “It was alright. I have to say, we never had a thought to make such a thing.” He smiled a bit as he wrote. Every so often, he dipped the pen into an inkwell. Honestly, how was that even slightly efficient?

Silence filled the room, then. Tony just let the other write whatever he was feeling a need to write. He felt fine in the room, but the plant was saying that the atmosphere was saying otherwise. There was a smell of stinkweed in there. That thing must be adapting to what was there on Earth. If only he had the chance to study the thing. That would be a great experience. Though if it had sentience, that wouldn’t be. Maybe he would ask about that later. He didn’t like the idea of cutting into anything that had a mind. 

After a bit, though, the engineer walked over and placed a hand on the other’s shoulder. He had been writing for a while now. The shaking was no longer isolated in the hands. It was also in the shoulders. “I think a break is needed, what do you say?”

The paper had what looked like chicken scratch wrote over it. It would be hard to actually figure out what is actually said. Besides that, it didn’t look like it was in English. Thor would more than likely have to read it, if he could that is. That writing looked difficult as it was. 

Loki looked at it a moment before finally nodding lightly. A break sounded good. It would give him a moment to actually calm his nerves and collect his thoughts. He leaned back into the chair and closed his eyes. “I thought I should get started a bit… I am glad paper had been in here.”

The engineer nodded. “I know how hard it can be, trying to get things out in the open. writing on paper seems to make it easier, makes it not so formal. Not so personal. Almost like you are writing a story rather than something that actually happened to you.” He looked down as he spoke. Sometimes, thinking like that made it easier to cope with his own problems. It didn’t feel so real when just trying to get it out. But then when he started to read over it… he realized just how real it was.

Loki looked down at the paper for a short. The man was right. It didn’t exactly feel like his own story as he wrote down the memories that haunted him every night. It didn’t feel like he went through hell and back over and over. It was like he was just making a character for some story… a very terrifying story. It was nice to be able to write stuff rather than say it outright. 

After thinking about it some more, the God turned his chair away from the desk, not wanting to focus on it at all. He was suggested to take a break as it was. He might as well give his mind a break as well. He folded his fingers together in his lap. “Is there something you actually need? Or are you really here just to ease my mind?” He tilted his head some. This was the second time the other was in there. He was curious as of where Steve was.

Tony just shrugged some. “Maybe I am here just to have a chat with you. You had so much time with Steve. Maybe I got jealous.” He smirked and sat on the bed, leaning back as he gauged the beings reaction before adding “I thought some company could help you ease up. I know how hard it can be to talk about traumas.” 

The God scoffed a bit and looked over at the vines still climbing over the windows. “I doubt you would understand too much what I went through.” He stood and walked over to the plant giving a soft aroma to the room now. 

“You’re right. I don’t. But you wouldn’t understand mine, either. It is almost never the same…” The engineer looked at the floor. He started to tap his foot some. He told himself that sharing would be needed. It would help Loki feel more at ease.

“Before I became Iron Man, I was just the CEO of a weapons manufacturer for the military. I made better missiles and thought I was saving hundreds of lives with what I built. I just felt like fewer men would be needed if something like what I had was getting rid of the enemy quicker than the kids were…” He shifted uncomfortably before tapping his chest. “One of my missiles was shot at me. And it was then that I was captured by a group called ‘the Ten Rings.’”

Loki raised a hand to wave it. “Burton told me about you being kidnapped.”

“Did he tell you what they did to me?” The God turned to look at the smaller man, frowning a bit at the question. When he didn’t answer, the human continued. “I was taken to a cave and had a battery attached to my chest to keep the shrapnel from getting to my heart. I was then told I had to make a missile for the people who kidnapped me and then they would let me go.” He scoffed a bit at that and looked to the side. “I knew they would just kill me. I knew that ‘letting me go’ was just a gimmick they were using… Yinsen knew that too…”

The taller man turned more, frowning lightly at the mention of the person. He walked over and sat next to the other. This tale was now interesting since Barton obviously had no knowledge of what had happened. And the fact Tony knew he was not going to live… “What did you do…?”

“I stalled for time, tried to figure out what to do. I wasn’t giving a Jericho missile to terrorists. I was there for a long time before I was finally threatened. They nearly put a hot coal in Yinsen's mouth. I lied to them, to protect him and was given a deadline…” The look Tony had suddenly became painful. This was always the part he hated. He couldn’t stand thinking about this at all. And some things that happened after. He clenched his hand some, trying to keep calm. It was about time he got this all out. He never even went into detail to Pepper about it all. 

A cool hand was placed on his back, making him come back to reality a moment. He looked at the other. There was a warm relief that those green eyes were not just listening, they were sympathetic. They both felt a difficulty in trying to explain things. It was nice to know someone who felt the same. Sure, Steve had the same problem about when Bucky fell, but this was different. It was just grief of something he couldn’t prevent. For the two in that room, it was events that made them feel terrified.

“I built my first suit there. I hid it well from the Ring. But the download to give it power was too long. The ark reactor that I made didn’t have enough power to get it up and running fast enough. My friend… He became a distraction. He didn’t make it.” There was a pain in his chest as he thought about that moment, walking over to the dying man as he accepted death. “I watched him die before going and destroying all the weapons they had. All of _my_ weapons that they had somehow gotten a hold of. And then I got out of there. I walked for a while before I was finally found by the US military. I shut down the weapons company because I couldn’t handle the fact what I was making was being used to kill people I was trying to protect.” He looked down at his hands. “I couldn’t watch anyone else die because of what I made. Not like the men who were sitting right beside me in the jeep. The one was literally just a kid.”

Loki frowned some. He didn’t think that was all of it. There had to be more. But he wasn’t going to force him to continue on that path. It was not right. He was struggling as it was. “I am sorry to hear about Yinsen… I know what it can be like to get close to someone through something like that.” He smiled lightly. He stood up and grabbed the papers that he had managed to fill up. “I didn’t get much down… I guess you all can look at it when you have the chance…” He handed the parchment to the man. “I must thank you for giving this to me rather than interrogating me for information.”

Tony nodded and took the pages. There were only two of them, filled front and back. It was, indeed, in another language so they would need Thor’s help to translate everything. Maybe they could get the wording into a database so Jarvis could help translate more later on. “Alright. Thanks.”

Loki nodded gently. He walked over to the book shelves and looked at them a moment. “I am curious… how did you all come by these books? What made you choose them for me?” He picked up one of them at random, just flipping through it.

“Random choice, really.” Tony stood and looked at them as well. “I chose mostly mechanical and sci-fi stories while Steve wanted to add a few more supernatural in there for you as well as Christian books he found and thought the plot was good. I don’t know about Clint and Natasha. I think Clint literally just picked whatever had a good title or covers.”

Loki hummed and looked at the one book and picked it up. It was ‘The Diet to Die For’. “I am betting Burton picked this then.” He finally opened it to look through it a bit. It seemed to be a mystery. Not his forte, but it was something to read at least. It was quite the quick read that was for sure. “I am sure Thor told you I was a passionate reader.” He smiled. Once again, he was being reminded of the days that now were nothing but lies. But these days, the ones that were good reminders… He didn’t like dropping them and having them tainted. Books had nothing to do with the lies. They were still his.

The engineer smirked a bit. “Seriously… I can’t believe how often you read. Because of you, I am thinking of just making the one floor into a large library. Bruce wouldn’t mind, though. He would probably be in there most of all.” He laughed lightly at that. Beats going to an actual library. And with how much money the billionaire had, they had plenty to spend for the books. There was no shortage that they could use. 

Loki just smiled as he put the book back in its place. He let his hand linger there against the binding. “Books are spreaders of knowledge and gives us a voice if you write them.” He finally backed away and went back to the window. He looked at the city through the vines. “They can take you places when you don’t want to be where you are now…” He sounded a bit distant at that point, his thoughts back on the matter at hand. It made him shutter. He could only hope that the books could help get him out of the problems as they had before.

The footsteps were muffled as the other walked forward to place a hand on the taller man’s shoulder. “Hey. It’s okay. You are safe here. You can recover as much as you want from all this.” He smiled some, just trying to help keep the God relaxed. The cool temperature was saying that it was a challenge for the other.

“I want to be safe. But until Thanos is out of the universe… I will never be able to feel that way.” Loki folded his arms tightly around himself. Even though he was so tall, he looked so small in that moment. His green eyes seemed dull with the small tremors that ran through him. Just saying that name made the windows start to frost over. 

It was still a surprise how much this one person could fear something like this. A person with so much power normally feared nothing. Yet here they were, one of them trembling at the thought of someone getting to him on a planet that he had already tried to take over and really didn’t have any allies. If this being really did come to get him, there really was no hope for him unless they could figure out some form of weakness that he had. There had to be something.

“Hey. Let’s not think about anything like that. I would suggest trying to read one of your books or something.” Tony smiled a bit. “I would suggest starting with Sherlock Holmes. I think those are pretty cool, and they always have a handsome man playing Sherlock in the movies.” He smirked a bit before moving to go get the plate that was on the bed. “Besides… I don’t like you looking so lost…”

Loki closed his eyes. It was only when he took a deep breath that he turned and headed over to the bookshelf again. “Not sure why you care if I am lost or not…” He still had problems getting the idea that they were actually seeing he was not completely as horrid as he was when he was last there. It would take a good amount of time before he could manage to drive those thoughts away.

The man started to walk towards the door. “It sucks to be there. Besides, I don’t like the look in your eyes. They get dull and stuff. I mean, if those things were real emeralds I would get millions a piece with them.” He smirked a bit and walked out then, deciding it was about then that he should finish up the dishes. Maybe if Loki started to read the books he would feel better as it was.

What he hadn’t noticed though was the look that Loki gave him just before the door finished closing. That was not the first time that a compliment like that was given to him. No… He remembered that from another time and it sent chills down the God’s spine as he tried to remember where he had heard it from.

It took some time, but he finally remembered that boy that he had met the last time he had been to Midgard for a more peaceful visit; A youth who was both intelligent and handsome. As the God thought on that boy, he remembered the conversation that the comment had made him remember.

_”Hey, at least, you are not alone in the department of a sucky dad.” Loki couldn’t help but smirk with that, looking over at his companion. “Could be a lot worse, though. We can be grateful that we just have fathers that neglect us and show favoritism.” They could have fathers that abused them._

_The boy groaned and looked up at the midnight sky. They were both lying on their backs on the roof of a car. “Yeah. But at least, you have an older brother. I’m an only child who gets machines favored over me.” He pouted some over this._

_The God let out a sigh and seemed to look off in the distance. “You don’t get compared to them, though… I get compared to my brother all the time…” He remembered a particular sparring that the two of them had gone through. Odin had watched. Once it was done and over with, Thor had been phrased but himself chastised as though he couldn’t do anything right._

_He hadn’t noticed the other finally looking at him. “Hey, hey… Don’t get yourself upset. I still have to figure out how to mine those emeralds of yours, and they are no good dull.”_

Loki put a hand to his lips as he thought about that boy. And suddenly the room nearly felt as though it were spinning. It had not been too long ago for someone like him, but it did feel like it had been forever since he thought about that one week he had been on Earth. Now he could think of only how much that kid seemed identical to Anthony Stark. They were too much alike to not be the same person.

“Oh, Norns… Please tell me that I did not fall for Stark…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for taking so long. During this time, I am a college student in ceramics class and you would not believe how much time that class takes up my time.


	13. A Piece of Misery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers read the note that Loki wrote. It is only a taste, but it hurts.

_Falling through the darkness was, what I thought, the worst experience I could have ever gone through. It was colder than touching the Casket of Ancient Winters and colder than the hand of a Jotun that had grabbed me. I couldn’t breathe. I really thought that Death was going to claim me in that moment. I was surprisingly okay with that. Death would have been sweet and I would have been in Niflheim where Hel is._

_However, that was not the case. I did not get accepted by Death as I thought I would. Instead, I was pulled through space by a force that I thought was a bittersweet saving light. I know now that it was a tainted nightmare that would haunt me through many a days. Thanos took me in, mended my body from the space that nearly consumed me. I really thought that he was an aid in time of need. He fed me, gave me housing to recover. I was so emotionally distraught that I had not noticed that all this was just a means to break me._

_He didn’t need the scepter to see into my mind, to find my weakest fears and the faults within myself. He had a power of his own to do such. He knew that I was still weak from my discovery of my true birth and that I felt a great amount of anger towards Odin for keeping thus from me. He knew that I had loved everyone dearly, but now that my heart had nearly hardened to the point I couldn’t feel anything for anyone. He knew my glees. He knew my joys. He knew my rage. He knew my sorrow._

_I wish now that I could have given that up. I wish I had known that he would use everything in his power to use me and break me. He is a master at destroying people. He used what he found in my head to weaken me enough to try and control me._

_I didn’t let him, though. I couldn’t let him. I let Odin break me once, I couldn’t do that again. I fought against his tricks. I fought against what he was trying to do. And that was my second mistake. I stood up to him. I should never have stood up to a man like him. Odin would just yell if he didn’t get what he wanted and then would have placed me where I was no threat to him or of anyone in Asgard. Thanos didn’t do that. He wasn’t nearly as generous as to just lock me away to be forgotten._

_Thanos took me to a dark crevice in his realm. It was cold, just like the void I had fallen into. But I swear I will never go in there again. There were creatures there. I do believe they were another form of Chitauri. They seemed similar to ‘The Other’. They were smarter than that which I led in New York so long ago. Thanos gave me to them to do as they pleased to break me in any way they desired._

_You might be thinking that he has no true power now since it seems he only manipulates, but I will tell you now that he does. I just have yet to reach what more he has done._

_Those things were just tools that he could control to the very base of their being. Yes, the theory that he was controlling me was true, but these things had no true mind of their own anymore. Similar to how Selvig was obsessed with creating the portal, these things were absorbed with torturing people or anything that had been handed to them. I can still feel their claws and tools on me. And the things they did to me still makes me-_

The letter stopped there. Poor Thor was shaking by the time he finished reading it. His little brother was manipulated. But he knew that. The fact that he had been _tortured_ though made him feel far more uneasy than just knowing the God had been controlled. He thought he could forgive him if he had been like Erik or Clint. But no… He had been tortured as well. There was no way anyone could put the fault on him for what he did. And they still had the unknown knowledge of what exactly the things did to him. 

Tony tried to lighten the mood, to get some form of ease back to everyone there. “Well… I thought there would be more with how much he wrote.” His smile was broken as he looked at the scribbled pages. Jarvis was already using this to help with future translations. They didn’t think Thor could handle reading too much at a time. They were probably going to have to deal with a lot worse soon.

Natasha was looking at the table. Since she was the calmest, she stood and picked the papers up, looking at them despite the fact she couldn’t read them. “So he has an army… he can control people, and he is a mind reader. We don’t have much else to deal with right now. We have to wait until he can handle more before getting any information.” She set the pages back down before going to lean on the wall. Torture was nothing to her anymore. This was nothing.

“Until then, we can only make Loki as at ease as possible. We must be on the right track, though.” Steve stared at the table as he thought on all this. He was mildly disturbed by all this so far. He was sure he would have to deal with things similar to what he had read about with Hydra and the Nazi’s later on. But for now, he had to wait and see what will happen later. He had to admit, waiting was not easy. “He is starting to open up, which is a good sign. Eventually, we might get a start on how to beat this guy as he comes clean about what was done.”

Clint leaned back in his chair, his eyes dark. As much as everyone was hopeful, someone had to look at a downside. “What if there is nothing we can do, though? What if there is nothing that can bring Thanos down?” They at least needed someone who thought about that.

Steve sighed. “We will just have to try what we can… Everyone said that the Titanic was unsinkable…” And everyone knows the story about that. They could bring the Titan down. They just needed to figure out what his weakness was.

Tony let out a deep sigh. He leaned his head back as he thought. They had a lot to deal with. Getting help might be a good solution. Charles Xavier was a telepath, so he might have some insight on what they were dealing with. It was a start at least. But depending what else this guy had, they would need more advice about what to do. The engineer had to admit, there was one thing that he really hated about this part of everything going on; the waiting. He hated to wait. There was just too much that they needed and they might not even have the time to get it.

Clint stood up and stretched. “Taco Bell…” He looked up at the ceiling. He didn’t even notice how everyone was staring at him. “I think I am going to get Taco Bell tonight. So, I am going to need all your orders before heading out.” He walked out of the room, not even bothering to say anything else.

Thor looked at the door and then smirked before starting to lightly laugh. This made everyone else join in. The room had started to get a little too tense to be comfortable. With the air of mystery and the distress from the thunder God, a good laugh was something that was definitely a must. Clint really helped with that fact.

Bruce stood up, grabbing the pages. They had to get this in a file of sorts. Jarvis had the translated portion. There was no need to keep the physical form there in the room. Besides that, they could go their separate ways for the time. They knew what had been said so far. They didn’t need to figure much more out until the man who wrote the paper was ready for it. No need to keep ceremony now. And they had their ‘orders’; just help Loki. That shouldn’t be too hard now.

As he left the room, the little meeting started to break up. Natasha left to go check on the batteries in her weapons while Thor left to go to his room, to meditate a bit. It left just Tony and Steve in the room, and they were also getting up to leave. The engineer opened the door for the taller man before heading out. They walked side by side in the quiet for a while. 

“How was Loki when you left his room?” Steve didn’t even look at the other. He just kept walking forward towards the elevator. 

Tony let out a soft sigh. “Pretty damn lost. I think he is so used to being hated or ignored that he really doesn’t know what to do with himself. This is a pretty one eighty situation he is in now.” He thought back on the conversation, about how the God didn’t understand how they all cared for him. It was heartbreaking, really, the other thinking no one could care for him after they found out what had happened.

Steve nodded a bit and stepped into the elevator, pressing the button to head to the docking bay. He just watched the doors close as it headed up. The two of them were silent again. There wasn’t much to think about at the moment. Both their minds were on Loki. Helping him was easy enough, but how to get him to overcome what he went through was a completely different story altogether. Talking about it was hard and it was going to get much harder until he could get passed the fear and the fact he had to remember it all. 

Both of them knew that feeling. Tony had to remember when he first became Iron Man and when he had died for a short. Steve had to remember the war and waking up to a different world. It wasn’t easy on him at all. Loki had to deal with it all, more than likely. Who knew how many times he had died under torment? For all they knew, he had died quite often and was revived just to go through it all over again. That was definitely going to be hard on Thor to read over.

“I am thinking of letting Loki have a moment outside when he feels up to it.” Tony leaned on the wall, just before the elevator stopped at the top floor. “I can give him something that can monitor him while he is out, but I think he needs a bit of freedom, no one following him or controlling him.” Yeah, there would be a sensor to say where he was and to monitor his vital signs, but that was a precaution. He had enemies now. It was better to give him security than anything else. 

Steve shook his head some before stepping out of the machine. “Make sure everyone else is alright with the idea. I know they are warming to him quickly, but I still want to give him more trust. If someone disagrees, it might cause conflict and he doesn’t need that at the moment.” He turned towards one of the jets. He thought that going to Fury would be the best course of action with this. As much as he didn’t like the idea of it, after seeing the information that Sif brought made the director see that his hands were tied. Loki couldn’t be imprisoned when they need what he has. It was better this way.

Tony shrugged some and pressed a button on the elevator to start heading down towards the base level. He needed to get started on the device. A bracelet might work best. A sensor could fit onto the wrist well enough that the pulse could be analyzed. With the fact Loki was used to wearing tight sleeves, that might not be a problem. Though, him wearing tight sleeves might be the problem.

Maybe a necklace would be better. That way the piece might not bother the other at all. And they could be hidden under the clothes. It would be closer to the heart, as well. That would be pretty good. So, a small flat sensor that would fit onto a chain and be worn around the neck. That wouldn’t be too bad. Hopefully, the trickster would be alright with that. He didn’t seem to be much of the jewelry wearing type. Who knew, though? He might like wearing that kind of stuff. 

Maybe Steve should have asked about that. It would have been nice to know.

No point in focusing on that, though. It was time to go get some supplies to make the device. For one, a chain would be needed for the necklace. That was probably going to be the easiest to get. Well, nothing was too hard to get for a billionaire like Tony Stark. But that was beside the point. A jewelry store was nearby. That was the only reason why it wouldn’t be that hard to get.

Tony headed out of the tower, a pencil in one hand and a notebook in the other. He was drawing a design on the paper of how the sensor would look. It had to look like a necklace. Then there was the fact that is should look similar to a Norse necklace. Knots were pretty popular with the Norse so that would probably be the easiest thing to make. The issue was which knot. The knots meant different things and he didn’t want to have one meaning something like ‘marriage’ or anything like that. That would be embarrassing. 

Thor would have to be consulted about that one. That could come later. Now the chain. That was something that the engineer could think of at the time. With how Loki was, silver would be best, in color anyways. Though would some of the metals in the store be good enough? Shouldn’t titanium be used for it? 

No, that would be a little out of hand. Just because the man was a God didn’t mean everything had to be made ridiculously strong for him. A normal metal would be perfectly suitable for him.

As Tony left, he looked back up to the tower to the floor that Loki was in. After all that he went through, it was hard to believe the man wasn’t going completely mad. It took a few people to keep the engineer as sane as he is now and he was sure it was the same for Bruce. It took a year for Loki to find people and it took even longer for him to get their trust. It was impressive, really. Maybe his mental health was a lot better than a human's as well…

Now was not the time to focus on that. Things were needed to be gotten and that was what the engineer was planning on doing. He could worry about that later. For now, a small sensor was needed to be made and he was planning on getting it done before Steve got back. 

And Thor still needed to be consulted about what would be best to be put on there…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for me to make another chapter. I have been busy with school. How busy? Pretty much, you can look at my DA ceramics page and see how busy I was for just that class. 
> 
> http://gamer623.deviantart.com/gallery/58776286/Ceramic-works
> 
> I also lost my dog recently and that took pretty much everything out of me. I could barely game at all. I am surprised I passed two of my classes.
> 
> So, again, sorry for taking so long. Life hasn't been easy right now.


	14. Something to Think About

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Loki have a heart to heart talk about what they are and then Loki is allowed some freedom.

Bruce knocked on Loki’s door lightly, looking around a bit before the door opened up. The God was still a little uneasy, it seemed. He only opened it a crack. The doctor smiled lightly to him. “I was hoping you would allow me to do a bit of a physical.” He waited a moment before continuing. Loki seemed a little confused. “I have everyone’s health and well-being on file as well as health concerns that I should be aware of. It will help in case something happens like an accident.”

There was a bit of silence between the two. Loki was pretty uncertain about leaving the room. But, this was the doctor he was talking to. It wasn’t like anyone would risk the monster coming out just to set a trap. Though, with how things were going, the God was having a hard time figuring out why that was even a thought process still.

He finally opened the door and motioned for the other to lead the way. Once the door was closed, the two headed to the elevator and then to the level where the medical bay was. It was different from a hospital room. Instead of everything being so blindingly white, the walls were a light blue color. The counters actually looked nice with the yellow hue on them, and they looked like marble. It was a nice touch of color. It was a lot more relaxing than what it could be.

Some of the instruments in there did make the God pause, however. On the corner, there was a small tray with a knife, scissors, and sewing material for sutures. It shouldn’t have affected him that much, but it did. It sent a shiver down his spine and actually made him feel sick. Last time he was there, he never had to encounter a doctor, so he never had to deal with the sickening feeling. He hadn’t expected it, either. 

The doctor was setting the table up when he noticed the stillness in the other. He looked up and then in the direction that he was looking at. Oh, dear… “Need me to remove those?” Bruce looked back at the God who had jumped at the sound of his voice. He smiled gently and moved to get the tools packed up and stored somewhere else.

Once they were out of the way, it seemed the tension left the room. It was much more pleasant in there. Loki finally moved to sit on the bed. His shoulders were still a little tense, but not like they had been. “I’m sorry for that…” He tried to lean back, more accustomed to how things were in Asgard. He wasn’t sure how this checking process was going to work.

“Don’t worry about it too much. I expected you having issues. I guess I should have expected unease with something like that.” Bruce smiled as he got a tablet off the counter and started to tap on it. “Most of this Jarvis will be dealing with so we don’t have to do everything that you would normally do in a hospital; weight, height, and x-ray. He would do an MRI, but I prefer doing that myself.” 

Loki nodded slowly and looked around some. “So you just need to ask about past experiences and the such?” He was familiar with some things doctors need to ask. He had overheard two people talking about it. He didn’t care about it, but it was something he did remember. It was just one of those random things that stuck for one reason or another.

Bruce nodded some and started to tap on the tablet as he filled in some of the obvious information. Since he heard about the reaction the young God gave after finding out his true heritage, the surname was left untouched. It wasn’t that important as it was. Everyone knew who the man was that attacked New York. It wouldn’t be that hard to look up his file. And as he filled in the obvious information, Jarvis filled in the other bits that he could scan. 

Once all that was in, the doctor went to another page and started to ask about weaknesses and allergies. Being a frost giant made it obvious about heat and fire. Other than that, there was really nothing to worry about. So the two of them knew he needed to stay out of the kitchen on hot days and someone decided to leave the oven on. Of course, they wouldn’t know how he would react to medications. With how similar a Jotun body was to an Asgardian body, it was safe to assume that medications wouldn’t cause too much of a problem. Thor was still doing well with them. Though, of course, he didn’t need them that often.

Bruce checked his blood pressure as a scan did an average of his temperature. They would have to check that often to make sure it was correct. Interestingly, it was 74˚F. It really was no wonder how his skin could feel so cold to the touch. If it stayed around that range, they could say that was his normal body temperature. His blood pressure was a good range for a human. It could only safely be assumed that it was alright with him as well. That might make it a little easier to document his health later on.

Once the scans and the main part of the procedure were done, Loki took his shirt off to do a visual check up to see about any abnormalities that might help later on in case of identification. It was a precaution that was used very little. Bruce actually had to remind himself about who he was checking when he saw the smooth skin that was covering the God. There was no scar, no sign that something had happened in his life. There wasn’t even a mark to really identify him by. Well, maybe the fact there was nothing _to_ identify him by. 

“You have the smoothest skin of anyone I have ever met,” Bruce smiled a bit as he documented that. He looked up at the other a moment before sitting down. “There really is nothing about you that could be seen as an identifier.”

Loki was silent as he watched the doctor work and he put his shirt back on. “What about…” Loki paused as the doctor looked up. “What about… if something forced me into my Jotun form…?” He shifted, feeling awkward talking about something like that.

Bruce frowned and set the tablet down. “Well, we don’t know much about what you would look like then. Have you figured out how to make yourself look like that?”

The God shook his head. “No. I know what I look like, though… I could probably draw it for you if that would help any…” He looked off to the side. He pulled his legs up to his chest. He really didn’t want to start down that subject, but if he had to, he would. Besides, it might come in handy later, like his information on Thanos. At least with this, it was more just the fear of having to actually acknowledge what he was.

Bruce nodded slowly and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. With a smile, he stood up. “I can accept that. Take your time with it, though. I don’t want you upsetting yourself from it.” He set the tablet on the counter. He didn’t have anything to clean up, so he was just planning to leave.

“How did you come to terms with it?”

The doctor stopped to look back at the other. “Pardon?” 

Loki shifted a little and looked down. “The monster. How did you come to terms with the fact you are plagued with it?” 

That question took the smaller man off guard. He never really thought about it. Having it brought up was a little odd, as it was. “Well… For one, I don’t like considering him a monster. The Hulk was not born, he was genetically engineered… A result from trying to cure diseases with certain materials which… now I guess wasn’t the best of ideas.” He chuckled some. After a moment, it was just best to sit down. It seemed they needed a heart to heart about something they both felt insecure about. “It was an accident. And at first... I really thought he was something that needed to be gotten rid of. 

“I still have problems dealing with him. I can’t really have a relationship with anyone, children are out of the question, and if my heart rate gets too high I change and do damage.” He chuckled some and leaned back, looking out the window. “But other than that, I don’t have that much of a problem with him. I got passed my low where I nearly killed myself and realized I can still do a lot of good. I am still the same doctor that I always have been. I still have my hands. And when the going gets tough, I have him to do what I can’t. When I let him out, he is a lot calmer, a lot more in control of what is going on.” He looked at the floor then, silent.

The God leaned forward. “So it isn’t you, then, that has a problem with him.” 

Bruce chuckled. “No. Not me. Everyone else can only see what he has done. The Hulk is intelligent; he has emotions just like everyone else. He wants to protect people and make sure the ones that we care about aren’t hurt. But the hate that is pushed at him because of what he is…” He shook his head. “I accepted him because no one else really does. I can see his use. And he can see mine. The only other person to do that is Tony…”

Loki tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

Another chuckled. “When you were imprisoned, he talked to me, told me the Hulk had a use. I didn’t believe him until that fight.” He finally looked up at the other. “In a way, you helped me see that he was right. Yes, he did pound you into the floor, but he immobilized you and then made quick work of the Chitauri. And if not for him, I would be dead.” 

Loki laughed at that. Of course, that had been a turning point. “Well, I am glad that I helped you then.” He stood, knowing that there wasn’t much more that could be said. He didn’t know what could be ‘useful’ about his true form, but at least he had a little hope with that. “Thank you, doctor… For the talk.”

Bruce stood, reaching out to shake his hand. “Anytime. We ‘monsters’ have to stick together, you know?” The two chuckled at that before they left the room.

They chatted a bit more before they got to the elevator. It was then that they separated and Loki went back to his room. He never really thought about it. Sure, the Asgardians looked at Jotun as monsters, as beings that needed to be oppressed or killed, but did he have to because that was what he was taught? Or could he actually prove that they are not that bad? He had done some pretty horrid things, yes, but there was time to change. At least, he hoped so.

He was raised in Asgardian ways. He had not been swayed by anything until he had found out the truth to who he was. He might still have a chance if he gave it to himself. After all, others were willing to do the same for him. Now it was just time to get to thinking and change himself on what he felt.

That will not be easy, of course. That is over a thousand years of brainwashing to believe something. Every time he would think that maybe things were different, his teachings would come back and rear their ugly heads in his face. This was going to be a harder test than having himself deal with his past.

At least, he had help this time around.

Once he was in the bedroom again, he got a new piece of parchment out and started to draw on it. Drawing wasn’t something he normally did. Still, it was a good talent to have. He wondered if that was why his mother taught all of her children to do it until they were all masters. It was nice to see that teaching go to work. He drew himself as he normally would look. Then came the markings. 

It was not easy getting those down. It wasn’t like he had seen them too often, as it was. But his hand was shaking again. Honestly, if he had known what he was, to begin with, none of this could have happened. He wouldn’t have dropped from the bridge. Truly, his true form was the cause of all his suffering. 

“Would you like me to make a 3-D model of your drawing?” Loki jumped when he heard the voice. As much as he knew about it, he was not used to hearing Jarvis come out of nowhere. There was also the fact he was still getting used to what the AI was; artificial intelligence. He didn’t have an actual physical body. He would hear computers speaking at times, but it was calculations, answers, and the sorts. Jarvis actually made suggestions and talked. He could carry a conversation. It was… still quite strange to deal with at times.

Loki let out a small breath as he willed himself to relax. He didn’t need to be unnerved by the other. “I think that could help some.” He tried smiling lightly. Maybe he should have asked for help from the computer. It might have been a little bit easier and he wouldn’t have felt so sick just trying to draw what he looked like. 

On the desk, a hologram formed. It seemed to lift from the paper and make a 3-D bust form of the God. Because there really wasn’t a lot of change from the Jotun form to the Aesir form, some of the missing parts that could not be drawn were added in, like the back of the head as well as details in the ears that could not be added. It looked pretty good.

The God explained then how the colors looked on a Jotun. As more was described, the more the image changed. The colorless skin became a shade of blue. The dark eyes became a deep red color with the irises spread out a little more than what human ones were. The markings became deeper into the skin instead of just laying on the surface. Shading was added to make the image just that much more alive. The last touch came to the hair, making it smoothed back so that the image clearly looked like Loki in his other form.

It was quite a sight to see, really. It made him feel uneasy, but at least that was done. The AI put the image into the database so that they had it for later. Thanks to that moment, the information was complete and Loki had a full file rather than just a criminal one.

He smiled at the thought.

It was a stupid thing to feel a little bit of glee for. But for some reason, having a file that didn’t deal with criminal charges made Loki feel a lot better. He didn’t know why. Maybe it was just one of those things where it was one small thing out of a lot of large misfortunes. It was silly, but he would take it.

It really was a bit sad. That something so insignificant could be seen as a happy thing. 

About two hours later, there was a knock at the door. Loki had decided to read to pass the time. The sun was starting to go down by then. The sky was stained red and made the green walls look black. With the knock, the God simply gave permission for the person to enter as he read by the dying day’s light.

“Hey, Lokes.” Tony walked in with a grin on his face. He almost looked like a kid that just ate a lot of candy and was about to bounce off the walls. It was a little contagious, though. Only because it looked so silly on an older man. Though, that warn shirt from a Rolling Stones concert didn’t look that much better. 

The God sat up, smiling a little as he looked at the man in front of him. “Hello, Stark. You look sickeningly happy at the moment.” 

The engineer chuckled at that and nodded. “Well, I got some good news. But first, how has your day been? I heard Bruce got a look at you.” He walked over to the chair and plopped in it. He held a small trinket in his hand. It hung some over the arm of the chair, but it was just barely visible what was on it.

“He did. I just finished something for my file of health.” Loki smiled bitterly as he stood to put the book away. He never really had an interest in Taxidermy but he had grabbed it out of the blue. With everyone’s interest, Clint must have just grabbed it out of nowhere. There was no other explanation as of why a book like that would be in his shelf. It was almost similar to gutting something to eat. He wouldn’t want to eat the things after they were embalmed, though. That would be disturbing. He wasn’t sure why anyone would keep an animal like that.

Tony hummed and nodded. “Yeah, I saw that. You look pretty cool in blue.” After saying that, the smile dropped a little. Loki had tensed. “H-hey, you okay?” He stood, not liking that.

Loki shook his head. “No. I just… I never thought it would be ‘cool’ to see what I am.” He swallowed hard before walking back to sit on the bed. “Normally it is seen as hideous…” He was looking down now. The way his hair fell into his face was almost as though he was hiding himself. 

The human stared a moment before getting up. He really did not like seeing the being beat himself up like this. “Hey, none of that. I don’t know what the hell got into your head, but that blue form is cool. The red eyes are a little creepy, but that is only because we have things like vampires with red eyes. But those tend to be the cool vampires. If they have a different color, they tend to really suck.” He sat down next to the other, just trying to get the other to feel better.

And it seemed to work. There was a small smile on the other’s face. That was always a good bonus when someone is feeling like absolute crap. “You know, I think you could use a day out.” Loki looked up to him, very confused as to what he meant. The grin wouldn’t help, of course. “You have been on lockdown for a while. I asked everyone and they thought it was a good idea for you to avoid cabin fever. So, what do you say?”

He was still very confused on this. There was no way they would let him out of the tower. Not with what he had done. 

But apparently, they did. Tony wasn’t lying. He had sent a text to each and every member of the team and asked Jarvis to ask Thor about it. There were a few hesitations, but in the end, they agreed. They saw this as an opportunity for him to be able to forget everything for a moment and focus on what was around him. And because of the monitor that would be on him, they didn’t feel like he was going to be able to run away. Of course, Tony didn’t tell them it wasn’t meant to be a tracker. He didn’t need to worry them about that.

He held up the item that he had brought in. It was a nice looking necklace, one made with a silver chain of very small links that made it look more like a rope. The pendant was round. On one side, it had a sensor built in with a soft blue light to indicate it was working. The other side was made of wires to make a nice design to represent the Shield Knot to represent protection. The edges of it were a gold color while the rest of it were made of a silver like metal. It was a nice touch to the design. 

Loki stared at it a moment, confused as of what it was until the mortal decided to explain. “As much as I want to let you out on your own, there is your anxiety to think about and the threat. So I made a censor for you that, when your heart rate gets too high, will track you. It also has a communicator on it in case you need a bit of help.” He smiled some as he moved to get the necklace on. “And that help can be anything from getting attacked to being lost, or just having a question.”

“I-I don’t know what to say…” Loki lifted the item up, looking at the image. Thor obviously helped figure out what this symbol meant. Either that or he helped to at least figure out which one was better. It was a nice consideration as it was. “I can… leave? On my own?” He looked back up at the other. It really was mystifying what all they were allowing him to do.

The engineer smirked. “Yeah. On your own. You are no longer truly bound here.” The smirk lessened some as a thought came to mind. “Can we trust you not to run off?”

The God was silent a moment before letting out a slow nod. He trembled a little. “This might be the safest place to be… and that is saying something.” He let out a small smile. “Thank you… Would… would it be alright if I left tonight? Just for a short?” He was nervous about leaving. Just like he had been with the Breathless. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. New York wasn’t exactly a known place to him. And he also was unsure about the fact they were letting him out and about.

Tony patted his shoulder lightly, giving it a secure squeeze. “Not a problem. Any place you want to head to or just walk around?”

“I think I would like to consult Jarvis about that one.” The green eyes looked down at the ground.

Of course, the AI responded by suddenly showing a hologram of a map on the floor in the middle to the room. Certain areas were indicated in red, places he couldn’t get into because an ID is required or a membership is needed. The tower itself was in green so their current location was seen.

“Is there anything in particular that you would like for me to direct you to, sir?”

Loki smiled before Tony patted his shoulder and stood up. He would leave the being to do that on his own. No need to hover over someone who can take care of themselves. With Jarvis’s help, things would be taken care of and set up.

He looked at the map a moment as he decided what to do and where to go. He had the red buildings removed so that they were out of the way. He also removed some of the taller buildings and homes so that those were not interfering. The shops were useless since no money could be used. That didn’t leave much for Loki to explore in. That was okay. There was supposed to be a good amount of parks in the city that they were in. And that was what he wanted. 

All the parks were emphasized one by one. There had been a park with a small playground that he remembered last time he had been there. He was looking for that one. It was small and in between buildings. It didn’t have much. There was just a swing set for two, a slide, and a seesaw. However, where it was located, it was much quieter than the rest of the city. That was what sounded nice. And it being in the middle of the night, it would be more or less dead silent. It was a nice sounding idea, at least. Hopefully, it was still there. 

It took about an hour before finally finding the space. It was still there. And by the looks of the hologram, it hadn’t really changed much in the years that he hadn’t seen it. It would be a good place to think. It had been three days since the discovery of who Loki could have been with. Going there seemed like a good place to sit and think about that week rather than at the tower where he had to think about the person hunting him down.

After getting the necklace on under the shirt and got the directions to the park from the tower, the God set off out to the elevator. He looked at the numbers a moment before shifting. “Jarvis… Stark said that I can go on my own… Was he serious about that?” The man could be just a good a liar as he. He didn’t want to leave and then find out that the others were not alright with this.

“I assure you, Mr. Stark did ask the others and they all agreed. Though, I will say that some were told that the device you wear is a tracker so we know where you are at all times. It is only designed to do that if you want it to.”

Loki was silent a moment before letting himself nod. “I… think it would be best it is used as such…” He needed their trust now. If they thought he was wearing a tracker, then he needed to be wearing a tracker. They had gone a long way with him. No need to ruin it now with one small lie. 

“As you wish, sir.” There was a small beeping noise from the necklace as the tracking device was activated in it. “There you are. Do not be afraid to message me through the communicator if you wish me to turn it off.”

The God smirked some. “I am curious as of how Stark can live without you at times.”

“I wonder that myself at times.”

He didn’t have time to react more than a chuckle before the doors finally opened to the lobby. An AI with a sense of sarcasm and humor. How Stark managed that will be quite a question. “Alright. Well, thank you very much.” He walked out of the elevator, the AI making a small response in reply as he started to walk out of the tower.

It really was weird to feel the warm air of outside. Loki stood there for a moment, just looking at everything that was in front of him. The night sky couldn’t really be seen from the light pollution. The air was dead silent. Cars could be heard in the distance, but it barely broke the stillness of right in front of the tower. Nothing really moved at the moment. 

Walking through the streets seemed to have no movement at all. It was late enough that children should be asleep and adults were enjoying their small amount of peace and quiet before sleep themselves. A few cars passed by going home or to a night club. They were quickly hidden by the tall building as they turned the corner. In the distance, a few dogs barked with the sound of the engines. That was all that disturbed the peace. It was nice. 

It took no time at all before the park. It really didn’t change all that much. The paint was a little chipped and rust was forming on the metal, but there wasn’t too much damage. The red and yellow colors were dirty, showing that the playground didn’t get played in as often as it used to. It was odd, really. Because of where it was located in between buildings, one would think it was played in often.

Things must have really changed since then. But it was still as quiet as the night. Loki walked over to the swing set and sat down on it. There was a small swing from the movement, the full moon casting a shadow   
\---  
Tony walked through the labs as he checked the equipment. Everything was up to date and cleaned. Nothing was better than a clean table after a good about of work. That necklace was pretty nice, at least. Even Thor approved of it. He smiled to himself at the thought of the big brute admiring the item because of the symbol. If he made the demi-God happy, he was doing something right, for sure.

Once all that was checked, he made sure that Loki was in fact out of the building. He was getting out and enjoying the night. That was always something to enjoy knowing. Shame he didn’t get much of a reaction from Loki other than being shocked. 

“So, where is the prince of cold heading to?” He picked up a small device, a missile launcher that was set up for his gauntlet. Last battle got it damaged, so he needed to repair it before getting his arm blown off trying to fire it. 

“He went to a small park.” Jarvis sent the hologram of where the God went.

The sight of it made Tony tense some. He knew that park too well. It had been ages since he went there. Last he went he was twenty-two. For some reason he had gone years after his friend left, almost expecting him to come back. Of course, the other didn’t. He stopped after a while. Seeing it again… why would Loki want to go to that particular park? 

It could be a coincidence. It had to be. But for some reason, there was a tight feeling in his chest. “Do you know if he is there now?”

“He is, sir. He asked that the tracker is activated before leaving. Better than no one suspect anything.” 

Tony nodded and set the device down. “I’m going to go check on his, real quick.” He was still a little shaken by the fact Loki went there. He had to figure out why. He grabbed a jacket and headed out, not even bothering to tell anyone that he was leaving the tower. Jarvis could inform them if they asked. It wasn’t like he didn’t leave for no reason more often than not. This wouldn’t be a surprise.

The night was a little chilled, so he grabbed a jacket to wrap around his shoulders as he walked. He saw a car pass by as he ran off, his endurance easily keeping him going. For a moment, he thought he recognized it from another night run, but thinking nothing more about it as he got closer to the location. Odd, how he could easily remember how to get there without actually seeing a map. Decades. It had been decades since he had seen it last. 

Yet, there he was as he got close to the location. For some reason, he felt a need to go to it the same way he had all that time ago. He walked forward, looking at the park, looking at Loki as he sat in the same seat as… As he did before…

Tony stared a moment, just looking at the way the God sat there, they way he looked staring at the stars with a look of deep thought in his eyes. The image was too close to be a coincidence. There was no way.

“You…” The word breaking the silence made Loki jump and turn, like last time, and looked at Tony. He stared, half mortified, half confused. Then he realized the thought that went through the human’s mind as he spoke again. “I know you…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. Things are still a little hard from my last chapter. I will do my best to get the next chapter out, but I can't guarantee it will be soon.


	15. Can we be again?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discoveries take time to figure out.
> 
> Uh-oh.

Walking back to the tower had been in a deafening silence. Neither individual knew what to say or what to do. Loki had only been able to finally absorb the information when Tony made the connection. And the shock of it had really hit them both pretty hard. Suddenly having to deal with it in this way was not what he had wanted at all.

Most of the lights at the tower were off. Being this late at night, the power reserves were shutting unused rooms off while others the rest of the Avengers took care of. It made the air dead still as the two walked into the lobby. Normally, the beautiful room was inviting. Now it seemed flat with the tension that now filled it up. 

Tony turned to look at the God. “Did you know?” He seemed both angered and confused. But with what he just found out, could anyone blame him? Could anyone really say his anger and confusion was not justified?

Loki frowned and nodded slowly. “For three days now…”

“Three days?! And you didn’t think about telling me this?!” Tony glared at the God, anger rising even more now. For three days, he had been mulling over this and he didn’t think about telling him about this? It was huge information! 

But he wasn’t the only one starting to feel frustration build up. “I’m sorry. But pray tell how I should have informed you? I nearly killed you and your precious home. I tried to take over your realm. Exactly how did you expect me to tell you that a few decades ago we had met and became close?” Loki tried not to glare at the other. He could understand what Tony was going through, but honestly, he didn’t have a lot of options. 

The two just stared at each other, in different levels of rage before cooling down some. No point in getting upset about when one should have known. Besides, they had a more important matter to think about; what were they going to do about the little discovery? Going back to what they had been before the realization would be quite hard, knowing what they used to have. On the other hand, they couldn’t really say they knew what they felt about the other in the present. Did they have residual feelings from before? Would those alter at all with which sides they had been on? Could they even get back together if things didn’t feel to have changed? The two of them were not the same people they had been when Tony was a teen, however.

Speaking of which… The engineer shifted some, looking to the side. “So… I wasn’t exactly an adult… Were you in a shapeshifted form or something? I heard you could do that type of magic.” 

Loki let out a sigh. “I was… I had to make myself look younger… seemed Midgardian’s didn’t think too much about a child doing damage as compared to an adult.” Loki looked away as he spoke. He could see what the other was starting to get at. “Tradition’s in Asgard are different. I had forgotten that while I was here all that time ago. You would have already been marked as a man and any relationship you enter into be deemed valid. Unless, of course, if the person you wish to be with is not yet an adult.”

Cultural differences. That was always a fun thing to deal with. So, even though one was not yet an adult on Earth, in Asgard he was. No wonder Loki didn’t think about it while he was visiting. At least, they hadn’t done anything at the time. Then again, they didn’t think they would see one another again.

Tony looked at the ground for a long moment as he tried to take this in. It was not easy. He had thought he would never have met that boy again, and here they were, the one almost killing him over a year ago. What a horrid way to meet again. Even when he had flipped sides, it was still hard to believe what had been done not so long ago had been the same boy. Hell, the fact he was a God was hard to get through. He had fallen for the God of mischief and chaos… 

The person in question let out a sigh. “You need time with this… I need time with it still.” He went to reach a hand forward, to comfort the human. Better thoughts made the hand fall. It was quite a lot, more than the human could handle, probably. It was best to leave it at this. “I should go back to my room… You need sleep as it is.” 

“One more question…” Loki didn’t move, waiting for it. “If you had known… If you had known when you attacked Manhattan… would you have thrown me out that window?” Those brown eyes finally looked up to meet the green.

There was a deafening silence as the two stood there. It felt heavy and suffocating. There was no movement.

It felt like a quarter of an hour later before anything was done. Loki lowered his eyes. He seemed ashamed. “I would have… I hate to admit it… But I would have.” He couldn’t lie about it. Thanos’s hold was too strong. He would have continued his killing even if he knew his loved ones were involved. He may have even hurt his mother... “I’m sorry…” With that, he turned, leaving the room to head up the stairs. 

Ice followed where he stepped, spreading out as his foot lifted up. He took the stairs, knowing the cold could have been bad for the elevator. 

Tony stood there for a bit. He felt as cold as the air around Loki probably was. There was also a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. It made him feel like he was about to throw up. 

“Drink… I need a drink…”

He walked to the lounge area to get a glass. No ice was put it in. The only thing poured was whiskey. There wasn’t just a little bit of the liquid, either; it was filled nearly to the top. This situation was not exactly the best for an alcoholic that was still trying to recover from the nightmares. If it had been anyone else, he could have been fine. But no, it had to be Loki, the cause of the nightmares and the lack of sleep, and he had to be someone that the man had cared for. 

There was no bouncing back from this that easily. Knowing that Loki could have killed him made it worse. Sure, with how it sounded there were influences, but that didn’t change the fact that with the knowledge of who they were to each other, he would have killed the human. That left the question whether he was over the engineer or if the man was really just that scared of the being who tormented him. If it was the latter, that would be terrifying. If it was the former? 

Tony didn’t know if he could really think about that at the moment. He didn’t know what he would react with that. With what all he had to think about it was not the time to think about that, anyways. What was important was the fact an interest was back, with a bad past and state of mind, and there was no knowing if there was anything between them anymore. 

With how long a God lived, it was possible that Loki didn’t really care much. His reaction was just a shock factor and fear that the one week of them being close could jeopardize the safety he felt there in the tower. It was really all on Tony on how this might work out. 

Of course, no one was leaving. That was something that no one would disagree with. And if anything, Jarvis would keep security up no matter what. The others wouldn’t change much, though. There was, however, the question about whether or not the others should know about the relationship. Would it really matter to them? Was it really that important to let them know about something that happened so long ago?

Tony thought about it for a moment. No. It would have been silly to talk about it to the others. He took a sip from his glass as he moved towards the elevator. It had been a very long time for him since he had even seen Loki, or rather who he had thought he was. They were not exactly the same person, now were they?

He stood there as he headed up, looking at the door. Well… not everything he said while pretending to be human was false, now was it? He did have issues with Odin, he loved his mother dearly. It sounded like the brothers were close before everything happened and Loki found out what he really was. Some things did need the truth bent, like why he moved around a lot, but everything else almost seemed to ring true. It made the man wonder about the story of Loki’s ‘girlfriend’ and if she was real.

Wait… He never really said about how Sigyn had died. When talking about the girlfriend, he had said about how she got sick and died before she could have gotten real help. It made the engineer curious if that was how the wife died if she couldn’t get help.

Could Loki not have lied as much as it sounded? Could he have only bent the truth so no one would believe he was a God? If he pretty much was telling the truth the entire time with only a few details altered, then it was possible he had really known the real Loki. Well, the Loki from then. He was dealing with a new man now. No one went through scarring torture and came out the same as they had. Hell, no one came out of finding out they were adopted without being messed up, especially with who his parents really were. 

Loki wasn’t the same person as he had been. Too much in a short amount of time caused that. But that didn’t mean that he was completely different. Tony smiled a bit as he stepped out on his floor. It wouldn’t be that hard to get to know the other again. Who knew? Maybe they could hit it off again.

That thought made the man pause only for a second before heading towards his room to get started on another project. Did he actually have feelings still? Or was it just the idea of that happiness he felt with him when he was a teen? 

He sat down at his desk as he thought on it a moment once he got to the room. They would just have to see what they were going to do about the entire thing. For now, Loki needed to feel alright in the tower and that was what Tony was going to do. What they had during that one week would have to be put more on the back burner until things were calmer.

Or, at least, he thought so.

___

The chattering in the room continued as buggy eyes were set on the tower nearby. The last of the lights started to turn off, one room staying on while another room had a dim glow. They didn’t know where the target was, but they knew that he was in the building in front of them. They chattered a bit more before one came forward, looking at the tower a little closer. 

They were starting to run thin on time. They would need to get their target soon, and alive. Why alive? Well, they didn’t really care why. They just knew they needed to catch their prey and take him to their master. After that, they continued doing what they had been before being sent to that small island. 

They didn’t mind being there. They could maim their target if they could but they couldn’t kill him. They really hoped they could maim. Getting to tear a leg off was most enjoyable.

They looked up as the dim light went off, leaving the bright room. They watched it, seeing someone at the window.

Hopefully, they could do damage.

___

Loki looked out the window, thinking about what had happened that day. His thoughts were distracted, however, from the distinct feeling that he was being watched. He didn’t think much of it. Could have been someone looking at the tower. 

He let out a sigh as he turned away and set himself on the bed. He felt a little uneasy about that feeling. Even though he wanted to just think about Tony discovering who he had been, something just felt wrong. He may not have needed it often, but his instincts were starting to say that whoever was looking at him was no good. 

He really hoped he didn’t need to listen for once…


	16. A Little Help Can Go a Long Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha gives some advice that will make things easier for Tony.

It was quiet for the day. Steve had come back after the trip he had to inform Fury what they knew. The man then started to contact some others to see about getting some aid in this situation. He had the same thought process as Tony and scheduled for a meeting with Professor Xavier. He also tried to get in contact with Dr. Reid. His input could help in some cases. As far as anyone was concerned, he and the rest of the Fantastic 4 were the only people to have dealt with an alien species. 

Now they just needed to wait for the day to come as well as get ready to meet these people. It would be the first time that any of them met personally. It was only from stories that they knew anything about these people, and some of those stories were very biased. There was a lot of fear and prejudice around people that were different. The Avengers probably got the least amount of judgment for what they were. The team could only hope that there were no issues from that when they met.

For now, they worked on daily duties and started to melt into habits and dealing with responsibilities. Stark Industry had a big event coming up. Even though Pepper was in charge, she also knew how picky the man could be. She gave Tony a list of things to deal with, changing designs and improving set up. It was a good distraction from what he had dealt with a few nights before. Even though he had time to think on it and got a good thought process going, talking to Loki proved to have been a very difficult thing to do. It should have been simple, but the man just couldn’t go to the room and sit with the God again.

It was a good thing Steve had come back when he did. The soldier was able to go in and hold conversations. With how he seemed, Loki hadn’t spoken a word about what had gone on between them. 

That made things a little more manageable as the engineer tried to keep his thoughts to himself. He wanted nothing more than to be able to think on those by himself without someone deciding to come and talk about his ‘feelings’. Seriously, if everyone just sat down and talked about that, life would be at a stand still. There were fights to be won and systems to be made. Nothing else needed to be worried about until things were cleared out.

For now, those two could talk and be merry until certain circumstances were figured out. Besides that, it was supposed to be big meeting day about the tower and when to make it fully operational and the official Avengers HQ. That meant a lot of booze was to be gotten as well as a lot of snacks. They were going to be at it for hours. 

No one was looking forward to it. Not even Thor, who didn’t even need to attend. He only helped with the occasional heavy lifting and didn’t necessarily need to be living there. He was good to go. But he insisted on being there as one of the team. That made snacks even more necessary with how much he ate.

Natasha and Tony were actually at the store getting stuff for the day. She was in charge of keeping the alcoholic in line as much as possible, and she seemed to be doing her job quite well. “Stark, I do hope you are not planning on getting this wine…” She held up the bottle, judging it.

Tony rolled his eyes. “What is wrong with it? It is a good brand.”

“The year. It hasn’t aged enough and you are not getting so much.” The assassin put the bottle back. “You grabbed two bottles of vodka, a bottle of whiskey, and brandy. You almost went for Everclear, which is a ridiculous drink for something like this.” She grabbed the vodka bottles and moved to put them away. They were not getting drunk. She would allow the brandy only because it was meant to be sipped in a casual manner. The whiskey had to go, though. “If you want wine, I’ll choose it.”

The man rolled his eyes. “So you are an expert in wines now?” 

Natasha stopped in her movements and gave a look that normally meant ‘you really are an idiot’. “I was trained to spy on men of higher orders to get information. Part of the description was to know good drinks for events when I was setting them up or working there. I also had to know what poisons to put in them so that they were near tasteless.” 

Right. That did make sense. Sometimes, it was hard to forget she was trained to do nothing more than be a spy and killer. She could act so human that her training was forgotten. But then things like this happen and there is a punch in the gut as everyone was reminded that she didn’t have a good childhood. None of them had a perfect one, with Bruce being abused and Clint losing his family, but Natasha was tormented until she was just barely human. 

It, regrettably, made Tony happy with the fact he had Howard. As much as he hated the man, at least he had him. “So what would you suggest…?” He looked to the side, trying to distract himself from the thoughts about his parents. He read the labels on some of the beers on the other side, finding the brands quite distasteful.

“Mascota. These ones.” She walked over with two bottles; one red wine and the other white wine. She set them in the basket with the brandy and got her list out to look at the snacks everyone asked for. “No more. Besides, you have plenty more at the tower.” 

With a huff, the man followed to get the snacks, grabbing chips for everyone as well as the preferred dips. It was silent between the two as they got what was needed. It was a nice quiet, though. As much as Tony loved to talk, especially about himself, Natasha never gave a reaction. If he pushed her buttons, sure, but only then. Otherwise, she didn’t do much. It was less awkward for the two of them to just walk and get what they needed.

They went into the fruit section to get some healthier alternatives for the meeting. It was about then that the woman said something that really made Tony tense up; “What’s going on with you and the God of Mischief?” She was so casual about it, just looking to see if some strawberries were good. The man stopped walking, a little off balance as she turned to look at him. “I’ve been keeping a close eye on him. I trust him enough to know he wouldn’t harm us right now, but I want to be sure I am not misplacing it. And I noticed how he avoids speaking to you or about you. And that you seem to be doing the same.”

Tony stared at her with a feeling as though all the air had been knocked out of him. He wanted to lie and say he was okay, but the last time he did that, she read right through him. If he said something off, she would know it. So, there was only one thing left to do and it was the scariest thing; he was going to have to tell her the truth. “Outside in the car, if you don’t mind…”

She simply nodded and put the strawberries back, deeming them not good enough as she got another set to check. It took another hour before the two of them were sure that they had everything that they needed, double checking before heading out. Knowing Thor and Steve, a lot was needed as it was.

Once everything was packed and in the car, Tony started to drive, feeling quite uncomfortable now. “I’m waiting, Stark.” He didn’t have to look to see that Natasha was looking at him, waiting for his answer from earlier. 

“We recently discovered… we have a history…” He didn’t glance at her, or move to see what her reaction was. He didn’t want to know. “I was a teen, a little bit shy of being a full adult… and we met. We never knew who one another was; We made sure of that.” He took a deep breath trying to keep the lump out of his throat.

There was silence. Natasha was mulling this over in her head, trying to figure out how to approach this. “So, you two knew each other before. What is the problem with that?” She shifted in her seat, watching him, reading him like a book. 

He was afraid about this part. “We… nearly entered into a relationship…” He kept his eyes on the road, not faltering at all.

Her silence unnerved him. They were quiet for some time. The only sound was the road and the occasional honking of someone getting mad at someone else. It was almost deafening as they started to near the tower.

“Do you still feel for him?” 

Her talking again made the engineer jump. He hadn’t expected it, nor just a simple question like that. For some reason, he was expecting something a little more judgmental or concerned for the team. Instead, he got a simple question that really didn’t mean much. It slightly took him for a loop. 

He also wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to say. What would one say to that when the person in question tried to kill them? There had to be some rule about that type of stuff, like the bro-code or girl-code. There had to be some superhero-code or something. He didn’t know, but it sounded very reasonable at the moment.

The question was left in the air a moment, Tony finally pulling into the garage of the tower. In a way, the tower couldn’t have come up soon enough. At the same time, there was no reason to ignore what has been asked. Natasha might not let it go.

It was a waste of time to just let something like that go without an answer.

“I don’t know…” Tony stared at the wheel for a while. He hadn’t moved since he stopped the car. He hadn’t even turned the car off just yet.

Natasha watched him a moment, considering what to say next. She knew that stuff like this could be sensitive. She had even been careful after Pepper and Tony separated, just to be on the safe side. Nothing ruined teamwork more than being insensitive about a situation. If anything, that was why Steve and Tony didn’t get along. Sure, they had common grounds when it came to their sexualities as well as it came to the God; they knew he was innocent from nearly the get-go. That didn’t change the fact they bashed heads a lot. One was by the books while the other was far too laid back with how their jobs went. Tension pretty much came with the package.

This didn’t have to have tension. Nothing about how Tony felt needed that. They were still in the car, so at least, they had that amount of privacy. “Still trying to figure that out?” She looked at him, reading him. He was not comfortable with this. He would normally just roll this off, but with what happened, he couldn’t just let this roll. This was serious.

He shrugged slightly, keeping his eyes on the wheel where his hands still held on. “I don’t know this man… It was just a week and I barely knew him… But forty years… And then you take into account what happened to him all in a few days…”

“And what happened to you, as well. Don’t forget the Middle East. That changed you, too.” Natasha didn’t move her gaze from him. She was inspecting him, reading him, getting everything she could to better analyze the situation and better understand it. “Neither of you are the same. It wasn’t just the decades you were apart, it was also those traumatic events.”

She smirked some at a thought. She opened the door, moving to get out and start getting the bags. “If anything, you two could talk about them. You both lost your parents, in a way. And then there is the kidnapping factor. Bonding with those could make Loki a strong ally with us.” Her hands were full when she looked at Tony again, her eyes giving nothing away. “Sit and talk with him rather than think this through all alone. You might find you don’t have feelings for this man we have now, or you might like him all the same. Either way, keeping it to yourself isn’t going to help.” 

With that, she started to head inside the main part of the tower. Her words needed to sink in some.

Tony didn’t move just yet. He knew that he needed to help with groceries, but he needed time to think on his own about that. Natasha had a point. She had one hell of a point. Keeping all his thoughts in one place could be dangerous. That nearly cost him Pepper. Then there was his private project with making the suits in the first place. He caused a lot of trouble after what happened. Actually, sitting and talking to Loki would probably be the best bet. The question was what were they supposed to start with? They hadn’t seen each other on equal ground for decades. Maybe it was time to talk like that again. It would be good for them. 

For now, he had a meeting to go to. He finally got up and gathered some bags up after hearing Natasha starting to come back in to grab more. He looked up to her once in sight and gave her a strained smile before heading out himself. Thankfully, unpacking wasn’t that bad. Setting the snacks up was the more challenging thing. 

Placement of everything was always hard to do. It was never truly known where anyone would sit and it made it hard to predict the best placement. It was done, though. In the middle was a bucket with drinks in ice to keep it all cool. It seemed pretty settled. Once the time came, the other teammates started to walk into the room, getting settled… and the arrangement started to change. It was bound to happen. They tried.

Steve came in last, a tablet in his hand as he sat down in a chair, grabbing a bottle of water. “Alright. Everyone is here. Time to get to business. Avengers tower has been open for a while now. It hasn’t been operational. We need to start thinking about hiring people and getting it started.” 

Tony got his own tablet and set up a hologram of names. “I compiled a list of people with the help of Pepper. These people are only candidates.” He brought up the first image, a young woman who looked clean and intelligent. She had a number of degrees and experience, including a small amount of field experience from the military. Her rank was not high, but it wasn’t the ranking they were looking at. She had commendable performance in her field of work. It would have been a waste to let her go.

Clint leaned back as he looked at the image. “She would need some training, but she seems like a useful asset. Not SHIELD?” He was surprised the first person wasn’t part of their sister organization. 

Bruce shrugged. “Do we need only SHIELD? I think having people from the outside here would be a recommended idea. You need both a fire truck and an ambulance to take care of one situation.” He had a point. She may have been only military, but her expertise could become useful.

So with that, they agreed that she should join Avengers. And that was how the meeting went for a good two hours, just looking at the different candidates. They really hadn’t made a dent in how many people were agreed upon and how many were actually rejected. The list was quite extensive. Pepper really wanted to give them a good amount to look at.

It had to be around the five-hundredth person they were looking at when they were starting to get tired and Tony pulled out the booze to try and liven them up. Clint was more than willing to partake in a bit of a drink to pass the time. No one else took any, however. They were about to change the subject, a small break from the candidates when a voice spoke up, one that made everyone still. 

“I don’t know about all of you… but I think that man would be a disaster here…” Everyone turned to the voice, shocked to see Loki standing there in the doorway of the meeting room. He seemed nervous, a bit out of place. Then again, this was the first time he had left his room with no escort or the permission from the others. It was quite a shock to see him in there.

Steve stood up after a moment, smiling lightly. “I guess we should use some of your input. You are staying a bit as it is.” He didn’t think they could put him anywhere else. Fury wouldn’t allow it. So instead he walked over to the God, who seemed to be wanting to turn and run out of there. “Come in sit. We have plenty of space, and I am sure we can spare what we have.” He glanced at everyone else before leading him over to one of the chairs. It was a good step.

Loki took a hard swallow as he was led over, taking a quick glance at Tony. They hadn’t spoken since that day, so this was quite awkward for the two of them. Loki hid it well enough. Well… hard to ‘hide’ how awkward he felt when he was in that room with everyone. If anything, just being in the room with the other added to it. But he was trying to get out of a comfort zone. Some awkwardness was bound to happen for the time.

It was an improvement, at least. Clint hummed and looked over to the hologram again. “Well, since you gave your advice, mind giving your opinion on what is wrong with Mr. Clow?”

Loki cleared his throat as he tried to relax, looking at the information. “He is a doctor, one that has only ever seen a hospital room at most. He would have no experience with surgeries with his field and he has no military background, so wounded would be… unfortunate for him to see.” He hesitantly reached forward, grabbing a bottle of water.

Natasha smirked a bit, shifting her weight. “What about as a supervisor? Checking for supplies?” Everyone could see she was working him up, getting him to feel right in there.

“Even as a supervisor, he would see the carnage that can happen with you all. And I very much doubt he would want to work in such a low job with his experience. You wouldn’t make Bruce here do nothing more than stock, would you?” Loki smiled a little, looking at the doctor.

Bruce shook his head. “That would be a nightmare for me.”

Everyone let out a few chuckled. Steve nodded in agreement with Loki then. “Alright. Dr. Clow will be taken off as a candidate. Thank you very much for your input.” He patted Loki on the back, grateful he came in. 

The God seemed to speed things up some. It helped that he had a fresh thought process. Everyone else was ready to get out of there. By the time the day came to a close, they actually got more done than they originally anticipated. Jarvis had calculated that they would have more than two days to work on the list with how time slowed once boredom kicked in. Now it seemed they might be able to start on the next order of business quicker. They just needed to get through the last four hundred people now. 

Everyone was getting up, Loki pulling Thor to the side as most of the humans left the room. Tony paused a moment, reading their body language. The older had really started to seem like a brother as he used to be. He was worried and wanting to help his little brother out. Loki… seemed ashamed of something. The engineer wasn’t sure what it could have been, though, not from where he was. The Gods were talking quietly. As much as he wanted to use Jarvis, it was best to ask one of them personally. It would just mean he wouldn’t get bashed around from listening to a private conversation.

After about two minutes, Thor pulled Loki into a hug, one it seemed took the younger by surprise. But none the less, he hugged back, burying his face into the big brutes shoulder. Tony couldn’t help but smile when he saw the two. Brothers once more. That was all that Loki needed; family again. After discovering the truth, he really didn’t lose his family at all. And there was Frigga, of course. He never lost his dear mother.

The two parted so they could exit. They didn’t notice Tony at first until Loki glanced up, smiling awkwardly. “What?”

The engineer shrugged his shoulder. “I just think it is adorable that you two made up from… whatever happened that made Thor such a grouch about you.” He grinned a bit, patting the younger God’s shoulder. “Anyways, could I talk to you real quick?”

The brothers glanced at each other a moment. Loki nodded, smiling gently. “I will talk more with you later.” Even the tone of his voice was different from what it used to be. It was no longer icy with anger. Now it was warm. 

The fact ‘warm’ could be used to compare how Loki was being was a little weird to Tony. But hey, at least he was not being cold and snappy to anyone. Now he could be seen as someone that actually had a heart, especially to family. It was nice to see what could be assumed as the old Loki. Hopefully, it was there to stay.

Once Thor left the two of them alone, Tony started to walk towards the stairs. He didn’t feel like taking the elevator down just yet. It would be slower this way, and far more private. He could hear the other following him, not saying a word just yet. It wasn’t until the door was closed that the human finally started up on something. It wasn’t the main subject, though. He would get there. “So what was that all about? Getting all mushy again?”

Loki chuckled lightly, easily seeing what he was doing. “When I had attacked Midgard… Brother tried to make me see reason… I stabbed him in the side with a small knife. Not enough to kill him, but enough to get away from him. I think that was the point he saw no hope for me…” He looked off to the side, not wanting to feel the shame again for what he did. He had his reasons for it.

Tony hummed a bit as he took a few steps down. He did remember seeing Thor nursing his side particularly bitter. Must have been from that, then. It was one of those things that no one would really think about until informed of what happened. “Glad you two are getting along again. It is a nice look you two have.” He looked back to the God, who was smirking with that comment. 

“What do you really want, Stark?” Loki smiled gently. He wanted to know what was needed. They were in the stairwell rather than the elevator, and starting off with something other than the subject. Better to just get that out in the open.

That was when the engineer stopped. They were on the eighth floor by then. It was silent, the man looking at his feet as he mulled over what Natasha said earlier. He felt so stupid for having to actually get himself to talk up about this. It wasn’t even that big a deal. Well, it was, but it was a matter of just getting to know Loki again, not hide away from him and figure out who he was from afar. 

With a breath, he calmed his nerves enough to get what was needed out. “I think… we need to talk about who we are now.” He finally turned, looking at the Jotun. He was taller now because of the fact he was two steps behind the human. It made Tony really have to look up at him. “When we saw each other on equal grounds… you used to laugh a lot at my jokes, ran around and did pranks. You helped me dump water on the maids head and I never got in trouble…” He smiled a little, seeing the smirk on Loki’s lips at the memory. That had been a fun day.

“Now… I barely see you smile, and you hide so much out of fear I have no idea who you are. I can’t even make the connection in my head that you were that boy I met and-“ He looked down, starting to walk again. “We had something then, we felt for one another. But what about who we are now? I wake from nightmares and work to the point people worry about my health. I drink to the point I black out and I own an entire company.” 

Loki was following the other, just letting him continue. He wasn’t going to say anything yet. Tony had to get this off his chest. It seemed to have been bothering him the last few days.

“We aren’t who we used to be. We can’t have feelings for one another because then it would be for someone we don’t know, a stranger. We need to start over if we think there is even remotely a chance.” He stopped again, turning to Loki on the step just before the sixth-floor landing. “I have seen that you still have that light from before, but the problem is I don’t know how much of that remains and it scares me to try and hold onto that only to find out that there isn’t enough to cling to…”

They stared at each other a moment, Tony searching that smooth face. There was nothing being given away at that very moment. 

That was until Loki gave a soft smile. “You think there is still a chance, then?” He took a few steps down, moving passed the smaller man so that they could be more leveled with one another. “You are right, we do need to talk. Just… having you realize who I was… it left a fear in me. I didn’t know how to approach you about it.” He reached forward, taking one of Tony’s hands into his own. “I think your workshop would be better to do this, rather in the stairwell. Possibly… with a drink?” It would be heavy stuff they would be talking about. Talking over drinks would be nice. 

The human nodded in agreement and started to head down the stairs again, smiling lightly. “A drink sounds nice.” Maybe not one so strong, though. They didn’t want a drunk human while they chatted. 

They reached the first floor and exited the room. The lobby felt nicer now, not so heavy from when they last really talked. They were just about to go to the workshop before engineer stopped. “Right, I don’t have alcohol in the workshop right now.” He smirked before turning, starting to go and grab the bottles and glasses. 

He didn’t get to the other side of the lobby.

Heat blasted at his left, sending him flying towards the stairs. Debris flew around him before he even hit the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize for such a long wait. School has been hellish, but that should end soon as this is my last semester for my associate's degree (Hopefully). I do hope to get the next chapter up soon, hopefully after school ends and I don't have to worry anymore about it.
> 
> Thank you for the long wait, and I appreciate your patience. I love you all.


	17. Get Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers have unwanted visitors, and they are after one person.

Tony could only hear ringing in his ears. He wasn’t sure what happened at first, unable to see anything but stars. It took a moment to realize he was being pulled somewhere. Arms, he felt a pair of arms. They were under his armpits, pulling him. Something in the back of his mind said there was pain, that they needed to not move him until they were sure that there was no severe damage. 

Someone was talking. It was difficult to make out what was being said. His name? Was it his name? Sounded like his name. Sounded like someone was panicking. Tony tried to look up at the person dragging him, to see who it was. The stars were starting to clear and he could just make out the dark hair. 

Loki. It was Loki. Loki was dragging him somewhere and he was trying to get his attention, to get him reacting. There was dirt on his face, and his hair was a bit of a mess. The God ducked then, something glowing passing above them. Attacked. They were getting attacked. Something blasted the door open and was attacking them. Who was that stupid to-

Wait, the God looked absolutely terrified… Why would he be terrified? The engineer tried to lift his head, to see what was going on. He could barely see it, but he was sure that he saw Natasha fighting…

Chitauri.

Tony started to move, adrenaline finally kicking in. He used the God as support to get up and moving. “Get me to the workshop. I have to get my suit.” Loki nodded, just as the sound of the fighting got to the engineer’s ears. He leaned on Loki as he was gotten out of there. Sounded as though Natasha had backup, but he didn’t know from where, just that she had help. 

As he got down the stairs, the ringing started to fade, leaving a pounding headache in the back of his cranium. His vision was pretty clear, indicating that he didn’t have a concussion, at least. That was a good sign. Meant once the suit was on, he could get back there and fight those aliens out of the tower and keep Loki safe. The explosions were starting to definitely become clear as he started up the sequence up for the suit. If only this was quicker. Those things needed out. As he looked over to Loki, he could see that the God was going through hell, even in there. 

Once the mask was put on and the suit activated, the engineer took a step down from the machine. “Stay here. We won’t let them get through.” He placed a hand on Loki’s shoulder, trying to be comforting.

“Wait.” The God reached out and took his hand. Even through the suit, he felt the trembling. “No matter how much you fight, they will get down here… I can’t be alone…” 

Can’t be alone… Tony looked up at the stairs and felt his chest tighten. Loki was so scared… “Damnit…” He looked around a bit before walking away, getting a staff that he was planning a weapon for, one that maybe Natasha could have used. The ends were still in prototype format, but they could work. He grabbed it and walked over, handing the staff to the other. “If you can’t be alone, fight with us. We will do everything we can to protect you.” 

He knelt down, letting the mask rise so he can really look at Loki. “Trust me… as much as we fought you, we will fight them. As much as they tried to take over, we will do to protect you, and avenge you for every damn thing they did to you, twice over and then some.” 

Loki stared, watching the other, the fear taking over still. But something in his eyes… there was a bit of hope. 

“Now how about we get up there, and you get to fight alongside your brother like the good old times?” Tony smiled, the mask fell again and he stood, reaching his hand out.

Loki looked at the outstretched hand, and then reached up, grabbing it with one hand, the staff with the other. The human didn’t wait, just ran up the stairs once the taller being was standing up. The God looked at the staff a moment, then grinned as he turned the switch and saw the sparks at the ends. This… this could do. He looked at the stairs and then started to go up. He wasn’t alone. He wouldn’t be alone as these people knew the truth. If anything happened…

He stopped in the doorways, seeing the fight. There was a good amount of Chitauri. They didn’t look like the others; they were bigger, and they had markings on them that were absent on the others. _So he sent_ them _here…_ He shuttered as he saw those elites. But the fear couldn’t take hold fast enough before the adrenaline forced him to slam the staff into one coming at him. Hitting the alien square in the face… it felt good.

He smiled as he felt that joy. He hadn’t felt that since his last fight on Jotunheim next to Thor. The thrill was never there after that. But now? He pressed the button on his weapon as another came at him. He locked it and the staff was swung. An arc of blue light slashed into the alien. After it growled in pain, a hammer rammed into it. It smashed into the wall before the staff could make another move. Thor… 

They fight together again.

Loki looked over to the older. The blond was grinning just as much. He had longed for something like this. Sure, not in the tower where some of his friends live and work, but it was all the same. They were fighting on the same side with a common enemy, they were defending one another, and they were being as they used to be. Just knowing that the feeling was mutual made the younger God feel as though he were on cloud nine. He swung the staff again, getting close to Thor. 

“Tell me, brother,” the golden haired God looked back at the other. “Do you loath fighting like this?” There was no doubt in his voice, but he still asked.

The green eyes mischievously glanced around. “Nay. I feel as though this is how it is meant to be; you and me against the world.”

The laugh that broke through the fight filled the younger brother with warmth. “Aye! I never wanted to be separated from you in battle! I trust no one more than my own brother to watch my back!” He gave another large swing with Mjolnir and sent one of the Chitauri flying into a wall.

Tony glanced over to see the brothers fighting back to back, keeping each other alive. He noticed the difference between them in that small moment. Thor was a warrior through and through. He threw the hammer to hit, to do damage, to defeat his enemy. Loki was more strategic. When he hit, it was to take the enemy down the fastest way possible. He tried to conserve as much energy as he could without holding back. It made the two a deadly force; one of brute strength while the other was of wits. It made the engineer smile before he turned to throw a blast at one of the Chitauri. 

As much as he didn’t like the idea of the tower getting trashed _again_ , he was glad to see that their old enemy was helping bring the intruders down. There was almost a poetic justice to it. First Loki was a fiend who came to Earth trying to take it over and do harm. Now he was a friend who was fighting side by side with them to defeat the very beings he had worked with. They had caused him such trauma and now he was able to get back at them.

There was nothing better in that moment than what they were doing. 

One of the Chitauri attempted to attack the engineer from behind. That was quite a mistake. After all, they attacked in his tower, his creation. Jarvis quickly told him about the surprise attack, giving him enough time to turn and blast the alien. As he turned, he saw that neither Steve nor Bruce were there. They must have been on different floors, or out of the tower. Whichever it was, it made the fight a little more difficult. It seemed like there were fifteen Chitauri in that room, against Clint, Natasha, the brothers, and himself. Three to one. Talk about unfair. 

“Okay, Jarvis. We have taken these guys on before. So, we shouldn’t have a problem, right?” He was confident in their abilities. They have dealt with worse, after all. That Leviathan thing was pretty tough. 

And the AI had to put his fun down. “I do believe that these are stronger than the ones that were fought earlier. Their muscle mass is larger and they seem swifter.” 

That was fun to hear. He pointed his glove at one of them and blasted it through one of the doors. Wait, where was Clint? He looked around, no longer seeing the archer who had been defending Natasha. “Shit.” Did they get him? “Jarvis, where is Barton?”

“It appears he was shoved into another room. He is still fighting one of the Chitauri.” Good, he was still alive, that was what mattered. But they really needed to get these things defeated and soon. The tower wasn’t going to handle much more. The mural was already a mess and the bar was going to be completely rebuilt after Loki was thrown into it. Good thing Thor was there to keep the creatures off the younger God. 

Tony gave a strong kick into another alien as it jumped at him, sending it into a second to make sure it didn’t go after him as well. He tried to figure out the best way to get rid of these guys. He was at full power, but who knew how long this would take if they couldn’t get them out of there? 

That thought wasn’t long when a shield moved into the man’s field of vision. Looked like the Captain finally got into the fight. That was just one more, but it was an improvement. He didn’t have his armor on, a risky move, but he probably wanted to get down there as quickly as possible. Either way, it caused a small shift in the fight. 

That shift seemed to be enough. After a few more blasts, the engineer noticed that the number of Chitauri in the room was starting to lower. There was a small cheer from another room- probably Clint- as another alien managed to run off and get out of there. That was almost a sign for the rest to start trying to head out. Looked like a small victory for the Avengers. 

As great as it was that this fight was won, however, there was something that made Tony feel uneasy as he landed to see the damage. They had a hell of a time with the last set of aliens. They were weaker and in a larger group. These things were stronger and in a tight space, not so spread out as the last round. They didn’t even have the Hulk join in this time. They didn’t have the upper hand by what the scans were showing. Hell, Steve only did a small amount to give them a chance. So something was off as of why they would suddenly get the hell out of dodge when one more person came in. 

Clint walked into the room, blood coming from his head as well as his left leg. There was a bit of a limp from the pain as he walked forward. Natasha was picking herself up, looking around doing damage assessment. She herself seemed alright with just a nose bleed, though there was a slight favoring on her left side. It might have been a bruise since she wasn’t having too many problems breathing. Since Steve wasn’t in for long he didn’t have much, just a few scratches. Thor had more cuts and scrapes, but that was about it. 

Tony himself was pretty good. He just had a few bends in his armor… Which added to how none of this made sense. 

The suit opening up once it seemed the room was secure. Man, was he happy to have that set up for emergencies. Made it so much easier to get out and look at all the damage without the visor. And if he needed to help, his hands would be free. He looked around again, trying to get an idea of everything to do and how much money would be spent to do it. 

Everyone seemed good. Thor, Clint, Natasha, Steve… Where was Loki?

Tony frowned when he noted that the younger God wasn’t walking around. Him being thrown over the bar shouldn’t have harmed him too much. After all, that was nothing. Thor got up and walked away when the Hulk punched him. 

The engineer suddenly had a sick feeling drop into his stomach as he moved to see where Loki had dropped over the bar. There was a bit of blood on the ground as well as a few broken bottles. The staff that he had been using was on the ground with a broken tip. That would have to be fixed later one. There was one issue with all this, though; Loki was gone. With how the blood looked, he was possibly dragged out of the room.

And it was shortly after he disappeared from over the bar that the Chitauri started to make a run for it. That could only mean one thing, and it wasn’t a good one. They were not there to attack; they were here for a capture. 

“Shit.” 

Tony turned to look at Clint who had walked over to where the engineer was. He looked a little shaken too. “You thinking what I am?”

The archer nodded as he pressed his lips into a thin line. “Yeah, I am. Loki is gone, and I saw how he was fighting. He was not going to go willingly without a fight…” He crossed his arms and looked over to Thor, who was helping to check some damage, though, he seemed worried. He was noticing the absence of his brother, but wanting to take care of matters there. He knew he couldn’t be brash… He really had matured since first coming to Earth. 

Tony thought for a moment. “Hey, Captain!” The soldier looked up, walking over as he was waved over. “Chitauri took Mr. Icicle. We have to get him back.” Besides, they still had that talk to do… And the engineer didn’t feel like he could miss out on it. Something would break if he did.

Steve frowned and looked around. He hummed lightly as he saw one of the Chitauri on the ground. “Think the Breathless would work on them?” He didn’t like the idea of this, but they needed to get the God back. That thing was going to help them. At least, he hoped so, or they were going to make it. 

Tony thought a moment and looked up at Thor. “Give me a hand here, Raiden.” He moved over to the Chitauri to make sure it was still alive. The pulse was not easy to find, but it did seem to be breathing. “We need to get this thing downstairs. Where is Bruce?” He started to move the alien around, making it easier to lift him up with the help of the God.

“The good doctor went out to get some stuff for the medical wing. Since we will be in full operation, he wanted to make sure we had enough supplies.” Thor looked around a bit more before dragging the unconscious being out of there. “They took him, didn’t they? My brother?”

It was sometimes hard to remember how smart the big oaf was, primarily because of the ignorance of Earth. Of course, he would notice that Loki was missing and put the pieces together. “Yeah. But we will get him back.”

Thor nodded. “I know we will.”

The engineer felt his chest tighten up some. “Hate to break it to you, but I advise that you stay home for this one.” He noted that Thor looked like he was about to protest. “We can’t have you going in, big guy. Think about it, you are starting to form a big bond with Loki again, and you can be very reckless. He may be hurt, and if we can get him, we all need to be level headed. I want you to come, but logically speaking, you could be a risk factor.” 

The God stared at the other for a few seconds, before simply nodding in defeat. He couldn’t argue with that. There was nothing he could say to change the facts. Instead, he just kept walking, wanting to get the alien out of there and in the Breathless as fast as he could. 

While the two got the Chitauri into the prison, Steve was heading to the second floor. He would have just used Jarvis with a hologram, but that was still pretty weird. Touch screens were bad enough, but holograms were just something that he had problems with. Hopefully, that would change the more he dealt with them in the tower. For now, he was heading up to check video feeds around the tower to get a good idea of where the Chitauri were heading. 

Once he was in the level above, he started to look through the videos. It was the video feed from just outside the door. 

One of the Chitauri had been waiting outside, something in its hands. As it waited, another two came through the hole in the wall, the aliens dragging Loki out. Blood was running down his face. The hit must have been quite hard to make the God stumble as he walked. He was struggling still, though. Then the one alien that had been waiting put that thing on the God’s neck, like a collar. After a bit more struggling, Loki jerked. It wasn’t even a second later and he was limp. The Chitauri looked around, and then dragged him out of there, quick as could be. 

Jarvis kept up with where they were going, hacking into other security cameras to find them. Unfortunately, he lost track after they headed into an ally way. It was near a warehouse that hadn’t been in function for quite some time. There was a bidding war going on for it, but until it was bought, it would be a good hiding place. 

Steve was about to head back down the stairs to talk to the rest of the Avengers when he thought about something. They still didn’t know much about what they would be up against. “Jarvis, did Loki have more about what happened to him?” 

“He had finished, but he was wanting a break from it before having you all read it.”

The soldier nodded. Depending on the reactions everyone had, he would be reminded of it. Loki didn’t need that, not shortly after having to relive it all. “Bring it up real quick…” He went back to the table, waiting for the file to be brought up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to say my deepest thanks to those who helped me when I was stuck in South Carolina. I was trying to think of a great way to give my thanks. So this entire time I was focusing on giving you multiple chapters. So You should have a good amount to read. Shame it is angst right now...
> 
> Aldo, sorry I am not that good with fight scenes.


	18. Loki's Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Loki went through. Warning: Torture.

_Falling through the darkness was, what I thought, the worst experience I could have ever gone through. It was colder than touching the Casket of Ancient Winters, and colder than the hand of a Jotun that had grabbed me. I couldn’t breathe. I really thought that Death was going to claim me in that moment. I was surprisingly okay with that. Death would have been sweet and I would have been in Helheim where my daughter is._

_However, that was not the case. I did not get accepted by Death as I thought I would. Instead, I was pulled through space by a force that I thought was a bittersweet saving light. I know now that it was a tainted nightmare that would haunt me through many a days._

_Thanos took me in, mended my body from the space that nearly consumed me. I really thought that he was an aid in time of need. He fed me, gave me shelter to recover. I was so emotionally distraught that I had not noticed that all this was just a means to break me._

_He didn’t need the scepter to see into my mind, to find my strongest fears and the faults within myself. He had a power of his own to do such. He knew that I was still weak from my discovery of my true birth and that I felt a great amount of anger towards Odin for keeping thus from me. He knew that I had loved everyone dearly, but now that my heart had nearly hardened to the point I couldn’t feel anything for anyone. He knew my glees. He knew my joys. He knew my rage. He knew my sorrow._

_I wish now that I could have given that up. I wish I had known that he would use everything in his power to use and break me. He is a master at destroying people. He used what he found in my head to weaken me enough to try and control me._

_I didn’t let him, though. I couldn’t let him. I let Odin break me once, I couldn’t do that again. I fought against his tricks. I fought against what he was trying to do. And that was my second mistake. I stood up to him. I should never have stood up to a man like him. Odin would just yell if he didn’t get what he wanted and then would have placed me where I was no threat to him or of anyone in Asgard. Thanos didn’t do that. He wasn’t nearly as generous as to just lock me away to be forgotten._

_Thanos took me to a dark crevice in his realm. It was cold, just like the void I had fallen into. But I swear, I will never go in there again. There were creatures there. I do believe they were another form of Chitauri. They seemed similar to ‘The Other’. They were smarter than that which I led in New York so long ago. Thanos gave me to them to do as they pleased, to break me in any way they desired._

_You might be thinking that he has no true power now since it seems he only manipulates, but I will tell you now that he does. I just have yet to reach what more he has done._

_Those things were just tools that he could control to the very base of their being. Yes, the theory that he was controlling me was true, but these things had no true mind of their own anymore. Similar to how Selvig was obsessed with creating the portal, these things were absorbed with torturing people or anything that had been handed to them. I can still feel their claws and tools on me. And the things they did to me still makes me shutter in a way that cold never can._

_They attached a collar onto me, one that carved its way into the back of my neck to plunge a claw into my spine. I thought I would be still, but it never harmed me more than that. Well, really, it did far worse, but it didn’t cause any more wounds. What it did do was attach itself to my nerves. It would have seemed like a useless tool as I was imprisoned, but it was a nasty piece of work._

_It had twins. I cannot say how many for sure, but I believe there may have been four others, at the very least. While in a cell, the others would be active, using their connection with the one on me to make me feel the pain of whoever was being tortured. These things made me feel pain to parts that were none existent to me. I could feel myself be dissected, organs removed without a knife touching my skin. Bones were broken when I wasn’t hit. I believe I even felt like they had amputated a few limbs. All this, without touching me._

_I couldn’t sleep with that. I was awake for days feeling this. I curled in my cell, just willing the pain to go away. It felt like so long. And the worst was yet to happen. Feeling that pain wasn’t the worst part. That came when the pain stopped. I was on the ground when something changed. There had been a feeling of my chest being cut open, and then nothing. And then there was this cold, numbing feeling. It wasn’t until I felt a jab in the chest that I realized that what I felt was death._

_All I could think of as I felt the next jab was ‘I am going to die here’. Then there was another jab. And then another burst of pain. The thing had been revived. And the torture continued. I was horrified. It should have died. It should have stayed dead. But it wasn’t. It was still suffering._

_It took much longer before anyone came for me. I was still in my cell, suffering from the last bout of the other’s pain. I was confused until my hair was grabbed and they pulled me out of there. I was taken to another room, one covered in different colors of blood and gore. Nearby, I saw a bin and what looked like organs filling it to the brim._

_I tried to struggle as they slammed me onto a wall where shackles were kept. They chained me up, even strapping my head back. They took this long needle and stabbed something into my leg. I am still not sure what it was. I believe it was something to keep me awake, because I never passed out, no matter how tremendous the pain was. No matter what they removed from my body, what they did to cause pain to me, I never passed out. I never slept, either. I felt exhausted, but no matter what, I never had a chance to actually sleep. The first time I slept was in the prisons of Asgard, and it took me three days before I could manage that._

_Every waking moment, they seemed to torture me. Every so often, they stuck that stuff into me again. I was breaking down after a while. I couldn’t escape. If it wasn’t me under the knife, it was another being. And those things absolutely loved the fact that I healed quickly. They would leave wounds on me as they threw me into a cell and let me recover with those. It came in handy especially when they would tear something off and sew it back on. I thought it would never end._

_It did for a short. Twice I died. Twice I felt nothing. But that didn’t last long. Just like with the other being, I was revived. And everything started again. I hate how sweet those two moments were. I want them back, only because they were so still and empty._

_It went on like this for so long. I lost track of all time. I started to become delirious, from barely getting sleep or having no food or water. Still, those things kept going. I am sure if my anatomy was checked by those who knew what I am to have would see I have some organs missing. Those days were not the easiest to recover from._

_It took so long for me to see Thanos again. He seemed pleased to see me under such circumstances. He spoke to the Chitauri, away from me so that I couldn’t hear what he said. They laughed. I hated their laugh. It meant I was about to go through more pain than I was able to bare. I had gotten used to this torture, so fear had not been something I had been feeling often. I was once again consumed as I realized I would feel a different pain._

_The Mad Titan finally came over to me once he was finished conversing with the things. He told me how he just wanted my servitude, that he wanted me to find something called the Tesseract and what it did. He told me how he wanted me to give it to him and then I would be free of everything. I would feel no more pain, no more sorrow. I knew what he meant was I would be another tribute to his love of Death. But the pain would heal and I would no longer have to fear the knife that the creatures had been giving me. Though I knew this was what he meant, he told me I would be a commander under him, a ruler of a realm._

_I still refused, even going to spit in his face. I was seeing him as a coward at the time. He wasn’t using me like he did those things._

_He grabbed my throat, not even struggling as he pulled me off the chains. He was stronger than I thought. And then he told me something that really froze me. He told me that everything that these things had done to me, he had taught them. Everything that he planned on letting them do to me they didn’t know until the Mad Titan had shown them what to do._

_He was crazy. He told me how he destroyed everyone on his home planet that had not gotten away. He said that he had ripped to shreds his own mother, not even flinching as he talked in details of how he could do such a horrible thing to the one who gave him life. I had met no man who would do such things without a reason. This being had none other than to worship a being who would see him in death eventually._

_He then told me that he knew the one person I cared about and where she was. He told me that he had an elite group in his army, a group that was swifter, stronger, and smarter than the rest of the Chitauri. They were not afraid of loss, and they loved when they could use their intelligence. They could easily infiltrate Asgard with no qualms and get her._

_I thought he was joking. I thought there was no way that Frigga would allow such beings to kill her. Then he told me there was no plan on killing her. He would have the beasts drag her to the hell I was in and force me to watch as they tortured her just the same as me._

_That was when I knew that I had no other options. Thanos had me at a corner and there was only one thing that could release me from that nightmare. I couldn’t risk Frigga’s life for my own. I couldn’t put her through the suffering I was. And if they put that collar on her? The idea of feeling the exact pain she would go through terrified me to the core. I had never truly bagged in my life except when I pleaded to Odin to give me my children back._

_They started using fire on me. They were thrilled with the fact I did not heal as much when it touched my skin. It took me twice as long just to even start recovering from the pain. Because of the constant abuse, I really have no feeling in my left hand. I must stay wary, lest I hurt myself without knowing it._

_As long as this marathon of pain took, it did not last as long as the other time. Thanos returned with clothing, similar to what he found me in. I knew they were not what I was in when he found me, but they were so similar, I couldn’t complain. He had me cleaned up once more. And he fed me just to make sure I wouldn’t faint once I was ready to leave._

_Even though I was in such a delirious state of mind, wanting to just think about food and water, I did what I could to listen to the Titan, hoping to miss nothing. If I failed, I knew he would make me wish death more than anything else. And I knew I would never get it._

_I was given the scepter, then, trained on how to use it before I was sent to Midgard. And then, Thanos made sure I would follow his commands, pushing his influence into my head so that I would always be aware of him. I only felt him leave when I was defeated. I knew he would be after me. It was only a matter of time._

_Before he sent me through the void again, following a trail from the power of the Tesseract, I was thrown into a pit of pure fire. A reminder of his power and what he could do before I was sent to do my job. Once I was barely recovered, I went to Midgard._

_This was why I was so weak, not just from the trip through the cube. I believe that Midgardians have something similar, called ‘heat exhaustion’. It took me some time before I recovered enough to attach._

_This is why I feared Thanos so much, and why I went after Midgard. If I had the choice, I would have chosen death far sooner than I would have invaded._

_I wish the pain to end still._


	19. Preparations for Extraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have to get Loki. That Alien better help.

Steve let out a sigh as he finished the last line. This was as bad as reading some reports from the second World War. No, worse. Once the people were dead, they mostly stayed dead. They didn’t have to live through all that again. For Loki to have died twice only to be revived and go through it all again, he needed some serious mental health evaluations. How he was still functioning like a normal person was beyond the soldier.

As he looked at the file once more, he started to compile a few things onto the screen; the fight, what happened to Loki, and then the file itself. “Jarvis, I need you to send these to Director Fury. I know he is nearby still. Tell him I need him here once he reviews these.” He stared at the videos. With what he read, that collar might be the device mentioned. It made him feel sick to the stomach. “Don’t tell anyone about this until we get Loki back. If asked why they can’t see it, tell them that it would compromise the rescue.”

“Right away, Captain.”

Steve turned out of the room and headed to the first floor. Bruce should have been getting back any minute now. If the Chitauri were planning on continuing their work, the doctor would be needed. Hopefully, nothing would happen on the way in. If they needed the Hulk, it could be on the way out, but not before then. With what was seen on the video they might need to make sure the younger God was alright. 

In the elevator down, the soldier got to thinking. Winging this was out of the question. Unlike when he went to get Bucky back in the war, he had to be careful. One wrong move and they could be killed. 

But how would they get an alien to talk? Would torture even work? In any case, that would be left to Natasha and Fury. 

The door opened and he stepped out, seeing Clint. The archer was the only one in the room. He was cleaning up, doing what he could as he waited for the next plan.

Steve looked at him carefully. He had a wrap on his head, and even though he still had a limp, he was cleaning. His pant leg was torn off, showing that the cut was not as bad as it could have been. If anything, it would still need to be checked by Bruce. 

Speaking of… “Did Banner get in yet?” Steve walked forward as Clint looked up.

The archer nodded. That was good to know. “He got back just a bit ago. He is getting his medical bag and then he is coming back down.” Steve had just missed him in the elevator, then. He felt he could wait… “Hey, are you feeling okay?”

The soldier looked up at the other man, a little surprised by the question. He wasn’t hurt except for a few bumps and bruises. So, he wasn’t sure what was meant. Then he realized that he might have looked sick. Reading what Loki had written must have made him look a little pale. “I’m fine. We just need to get to Loki.” He paused for only a second. “He might already be going through hell.” 

With that said, he went up to talk to Bruce, wanting to get everything planned out and started. The sooner they got going, the sooner they could get Loki back.  
\---  
Loki didn’t have much of a struggle in him as he was dragged through the cold. By the time he came to, he was already through the opening. It was too small and weak to get an army through, but a few at a time was safe. It was one reason only a handful came through. But that was enough. He was caught again. Thanos was going to get him back for failing. 

The ground was made of a smooth metallic material, one that didn’t exist in Asgard, or Midgard. These things came from further out. He knew where, but he would rather not think about that dark place, where light from the stars never touched. Without treatment, the light damaged the metal. 

Loki wasn’t sure what section of the ship he was on for a long while. There was no way to lift his head to see. The device on the neck prevented it as well as how heavy his head felt. But where he was being taken to was soon evident as the beings dragging him threw him to the ground. A door shut loudly with a loud clang. Down the hall, there was the sound of another door opening and an alien from within letting out a terrified screech. 

Tears started to well up as Loki realized that he wasn’t even being given a chance to speak to Thanos. Not that it would matter much. No matter what was said, the God would still suffer for failing to return with an army ruling a realm and the Tesseract given to the Titan. It would have been the only saving grace. 

Before another thought came to mind, the collar started to dig into Loki’s neck, making the God start to cry out from pain. Just as the thing settles in, the pain started to shoot through, causing the being to spasm.  
\---  
The workshop was the most convenient place for everyone to meet while they waited for Fury. Bruce tended to what wounds there were, and Tony did a few repairs on the armor. It wasn’t anything major, but it kept them busy as they discussed what they were to do. So far, the alien in the Breathless wouldn’t talk. The only thing they did know was that the machine worked on cutting off the alien’s air supply. So there is something in the atmosphere that it uses. What that was wasn’t known, but that wasn’t what counted.

Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait too long for the man in black to get there. After finding out what happened, he grabbed a quinjet and flew in. “Now who the fuck thought that it would be a good idea to let Loki out of their sights for one minute?” He looked at everyone, Thor looking away from the man.

Tony raised his hands up, letting out a sigh. “Look, none of us were expecting the attack. We get pretty disoriented when an explosion happens right in your face.”

“Only in yours and Loki’s.” Natasha was looking at her gun, making sure that it was clean and in good order. “But he is right. This whole thing took us by surprise.” She put the gun down and checked her magazine to see if any dirt was in it before loading it up. “We have an alien downstairs. Just trying to figure out the best way to get it talking.”

The director nodded and then left the room. It wasn’t like any of them had anything new to tell him. If anything, he was the best thing to get the being in the Breathless to talk. Now if only the Chitauri could understand him. It wasn’t known if it had learned the languages of Earth or if it had something like Asgard’s Allspeak. 

If they got it talking, they could always send Thor down, but that would still be very dangerous with the anger the God had. This was his brother they were rescuing. Bruce could go down, but that could just make things worse if the Hulk got upset. 

Steve paced as they waited, feeling it safe to not watch what the man was doing under their feet. Fury did, however, call on Natasha after about an hour. The soldier seemed even more impatient as they had to wait longer on the two. He couldn’t stand the idea of what the Trickster God could have been put through already. Would they already be torturing him, opening him up and making his suffer more? Or did they find some other sick way to make him feel pain like they did with those collars? Anything could be happening, and they couldn’t do anything yet.

Despite the pacing, Steve wasn’t the only one freaking out. Tony, even though he was sitting still compared to the other, had many worries. He had no idea what state Loki would be in; if he even wanted to think about the fact they still needed to talk. The engineer, depending on how well he would be, might even suggest the God go back to Asgard. As great as the Avengers were, they were a small group with a few other groups of advanced individuals spread around the world. If the Chitauri came attacking again, it would take time for them to gather. At least, in Asgard, they were all warriors, ready to fight. There would be more defense. 

Even if it meant never actually sitting down with the other and figuring out what they wanted to do, Loki’s best interest would be safety, not just to recover physically, but mentally as well. They couldn’t do much on Earth. Sure, maybe bring a therapist in, or someone like the Professor, but if he left, Loki would be at home. Earth would never be truly home. 

“We got her talking.” Tony jumped as he turned to look at Natasha. The woman walked in with folded her arms. “She told us what we needed to know. Took a few broken bones, but it worked… Apparently, they are not used to torture, themselves. Only used to doing it.”

Steve swallowed hard before nodding. “First off, you know that thing is a female?” Silly question, but how could they tell?

Natasha did a small tilt of her head, her little ‘well…’ without saying. “She was pretty insulted when Fury implied she was a male.” She leaned on the door. “I thought that was amusing.” She smirked.

Steve let out a chuckle. “Okay. I had to get that off my chest.” He let his smile fall, letting the Captain take over. “Now, what did she say?”

Natasha didn’t hesitate to explain. The alien didn’t know English too well. She had a broken dialect, like someone that was trying to learn but wasn’t fluent yet. It made some things hard to figure out, but not too hard for the two spies. After getting a few hours in -Tony didn’t realize it had been hours already, not until he looked at a clock- the being started to talk, telling them that Thanos, her leader, had set up a portal. It was too small for a large group, so it took them a while to get through. It took a lot of energy from the other side to get to Earth. As much power and resources that they had from their world, it isn’t like the Tesseract. After about fifteen days, or so Fury thinks she meant, they started to make their plans to attack the tower and get Loki. Killing the group that defeated them would have been a bonus, but they were only after Loki.

The alien then was forced to say how to get through to the other side. There was a promise that death would be quick rather than being left in the hands of the other Chitauri, where death would almost never come. She also let them know how to get the device off Loki without killing him. Again, she only asked this with the promise that they would kill her rather than let her live.

Steve didn’t like this. It almost sounded like a trap. The alien could easily be leading them to their deaths if they were not careful. But they didn’t really have much choice, now did they? Staying there was not an option. 

With a mental nod, Steve looked at everyone, weighing all the possible scenarios that could happen. “Alright. We can’t take everyone. This will need to be a small group, and all of us going would be too much. If Loki really is hurt, we definitely need you to come with us, Bruce.” 

The doctor shifted in his seat, but said nothing, finishing his work on Clint’s leg. With that, he packed up his gear and stood. “Let me stock this up…” He walked out of there quickly.

The Captain hated to put him through this, but what choice did they have? “Clint, Natasha, I want you, the Director, and other SHIELD agents outside once we get back. If there is trouble, we need you to be there to make sure nothing gets out, and if it does, it doesn’t get far.”

Clint just smirked. “Too easy.” He looked at Natasha, who left to get her gear set up as well as inform Fury as of what was going on. He could agree with this part of the plan since he shouldn't be on his leg, as it was.

Steve looked at Thor, who was standing, ready for anything. Oh, won’t he be disappointed? “We will need your friend, Dr. Selvig, and possibly Jane. If they are here, you would be the best protection for them.” 

Thor’s fists tightened some. He wanted to argue, he wanted to come with, but the last time he thought brashly, he learned he had thought wrong and nearly started a war. For the sake of his brother, he would listen. He would listen to his friend as he hadn’t his father. He learned his mistake once, he was not going to do it again.

Steve smiled at the cooperation. He finally turned to Tony. “I will need someone else with me. The best one is you…” He hated how his friend paled at the idea. “I know. This might not be easy. But if anyone can figure their technology out, it is you.” 

Tony simply nodded. With a sigh, he looked at his stuff. “Tell me when to meet with you all. I will be there.” 

Steve nodded and patted the man on the back. With that, orders were out, and he left the room. Thor followed after, wanting to talk things over with the Director. He wouldn’t argue with anyone, but he would need to know if there was any more he could do to help.

That left just Clint and Tony in there, the engineer starting to get a suit set up. It wasn’t known what was needed, but they had to be set up. He did have a suit that had an oxygen tank built into it, but that wouldn’t help Bruce and Steve once they were through. He would need to find a way to get them set up, too, if it was needed. 

The archer watched for a bit before moving from his spot, walking over to the other. “Nat told me about you and Loki.” He didn’t flinch when the other turned to glare at him. It was between the two, she had no right to tell her friend, of course. “Don’t worry. It was after the attack, when she was checking my wounds. She was surprised how calm you were after he was taken. She wasn’t sure how to approach you on what you were thinking.”

The engineer was silent for a moment before letting out a soft sigh. She only talked out of concern. There wouldn’t be another reason why. With a bit of silence, Tony moved to get to work on the suit, making sure it was properly set up. “I’m thinking that we really needing to get going.” He didn’t want to focus on how he felt with Loki being gone. That could come later, when they knew that the being was safe and in their custody again.

The two were quiet for some time before Clint seemed satisfied with that answer. He turned, getting ready to head out.

It took only a half an hour later for them to pull the alien out from the chamber. The cuffs they had on her were the very ones that Loki had on when Thor came with him. That seemed like a little bit of irony, making Tony smirk under the mask of his suit. 

She didn’t look too hurt, though there were a few burn marks on her skin. Other than that, nothing really looked out of place from when he had taken her down. They really must not like the pain from whatever it was that the two did. That was good to know in case something like this came up again. 

“Alright, just like we agreed on.” Natasha looked at the alien as the shackles were double checked. “You help, we don’t leave you in that ship to answer to your boss.” 

The alien visibly shuttered, making those who hadn’t read the essay wonder how bad it was, and confirmed to the ones who had that Loki was right. “Problem, no.” The voice was scratchy and rough with an accent from the alien dialect. The being spoke slow, trying to make sure the words were right. “Take to Green One. Bring back. No tricky-tricky.” She looked at them all for a short before nodding to the other woman. “Fast, we go.” She looked up at Fury who nodded to her. 

He waved his hand forward, telling her to start walking. She followed the order without so much as a scoff. Seemed the request that she be killed rather than go through pain really did make things easy for her. If not for the fact it would seem like they were pushing it, then they would ask her to turn on the others. Most would doubt she would betray her kind, though. Not that much, at least.

Outside the tower in a garage was a SWAT vehicle large enough for them. There were a few cop cars as well, giving an image that there is a normal, human situation going as they left the garage. Thankfully, they weren’t really watched, no one wondering what exactly was going on. It wasn’t like they were seeing aliens attack. The Avengers were not going anywhere, as far as anyone was concerned. 

That was how it was needed to be in that moment. There was no need to cause panic as the vehicles drove to the warehouse that the cameras followed the others to. It was nothing special. There were some spare parts from ships, but nothing more. There wasn’t even a good spot to hide if something were to happen. That also made it that there were no threats seen. 

The alien got out of the truck, looking around. She seemed skittish as she saw everyone with guns. The only two without were a young woman and an older man. They were working on a device, one that looked similar to what was built on the Tower what seemed like so long ago.

Though, when the woman looked up, she smiled and ran over to Thor, hugging him tightly. “It is so good to see you again!” She smiled, backing up to look up at the broad-shouldered man. “I would have been visiting whenever I got the chance, but SHIELD has really been keeping me busy.” She walked the God over to the machine, speaking in a language that pretty much no one understood. The only one who really got what she was saying was Tony. Thor listened to her despite not understanding the science. 

The engineer looked around, scanning everything. There seemed to be a small spot that had a gravitational pull. Dust danced around it. There was also a feather swirling around. It didn’t seem that anything was going through it, so nothing was open as of yet. 

The alien stepped forward, some of the men keeping their aim at her. She didn’t seem to be going to harm them, but one never knew. “Once open, must hurry. Can’t waste.” She looked over to the ones that were going in with her, particularly the Captain. “Place safe not. Place dangerous.”

Steve frowned. “For even you?” He crossed his arms. 

“Left dead. Bring you, dead will want.” 

Steve couldn’t help but think of what Loki wrote; _I wish the pain to end still._ It really made him wonder how horrid this man really was if even his own army feared him. Knowing Loki feared him only made sense; he was manipulated. But an army? That he couldn’t believe. 

The soldier looked over to the two scientists. “How close are you to being done with that thing?” 

Jane looked up at Steve, frowning. “How much do you understand the matter of space as well as how to rip it open?” She noted that almost everyone gave her blank looks. “Just give us a bit. This is a tricky business and we are using the knowledge that was only given to Erik by the scepter. A lot of that is fuzzy now and patching that information up isn’t easy.” She hooked up a cord. 

The man she spoke of smiled a little. “I will say, this should be easier to do, even without the cube. We are just trying to get their own rip open.”

“Lot energy. Must be high.” The alien looked at the small spot. “Energy here, not enough.”

Everyone looked at her. Tony hummed a bit. “About how much?”

She tilted her head a bit, thinking. “Not here… Don’t know numbers, meanings. Only ours.” It almost seemed like she was frowning as she tried to figure out what to say. “Plants not enough…”

Thor suddenly lit up, smiling. “What about a lightning bolt?” He didn’t know the Midgardian numbers for it, but in Asgard, it was one of the most powerful energy sources that he knew of. And if he needed to, he could easily amplify the strength. 

“Lightning bolt… yes, could work well.” The alien nodded, looking at the scientists to see if that was manageable.

Jane hummed and stood up straight. “One bolt has about five hundred megajoules of energy. If that doesn’t work, I don’t know what we could bring to help. We don’t have the Tesseract here as it is.” She didn’t want to say where it was taken. It might bring unwanted attention to Asgard. “We will get this set up for a power surge.” 

Thankfully, it didn’t take much longer for that to happen. With a few more adjustments and tinkering, the two got a set up for the machine. Thor moved it towards the opening in the middle of the warehouse. Once set, everyone moved, getting ready in case a threat came through. With a few buttons pressed, Erik backed away from the machine. Nothing happened other than the power turning on. A small vacuum seemed to form around the spot but nothing opened up. 

It was all pretty mediocre. That was until the clouds started to move. Thor stood just outside the warehouse at the large opening. Mjolnir was pointed at the sky, summoning the weather to do what he needed it to. Without so much as a flinch, a large bolt of energy slammed into his body. And just as it hit, the hammer was pointed to the machine, electricity flaring everywhere in the metal room as the burst was enough to activate the portal. 

It opened up, a shift in air pressure wanting to pull everyone in. “Go!” Steve looked at Tony as the man rushed in first, not hesitating to hold his arm up in case of a threat nearby. Steve rushed in after, dragging the alien with him so that Bruce wouldn’t have to worry as he followed. Just as the doctor went in, the portal closed.

Tony looked around a moment, not seeing the enemy. But… “Wow… This is an impressive ship.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the angst... It might end. Eventually. For a short.............


	20. The Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to get Loki and get the hell out of dodge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Some gore and violence

Tony wasn’t the only one impressed with the ship. It was huge, to say the least. And everything was a metallic gray. It almost looked like everything was made of veins going towards a heart. The archways seemed as though they took the spine out of a large creature and bent it backwards for support. Maybe a spine of a snake with how many ‘vertebra’ there were. Even the machine for the portal looked as though it was part of an organism. There were strange claws coming out and the buttons had an appearance like they were created from some organic material. 

Bruce went over to the wall, feeling it. “It almost seems like this thing is alive…” He looked at the alien, her breath coming out in a shuttered manner. 

She walked forward, looking tense in there. “Yes and no. Made to live. Made to breath. Made to be controlled. No true brain.” She pulled on the cuffs that she was wearing, holding them out. “Release. Can help better released.” She looked back at Steve, hopeful.

The captain shook his head. “Get us to Loki. But I am not letting you go.” He was not going to risk her getting them caught in a trap. “And if you try anything, we will leave you here.” To him, it felt like an empty threat, but he was sure Tony would make sure it wasn’t in vain. 

She stared at him for only a second before motioning them to follow.

Tony stayed near the rear to make sure nothing snuck up on Bruce. His friend didn’t need anyone triggering him. At the same time, he was scanning everything, trying to figure out how everything worked as well as what everything was made of. The scanner couldn’t recognize the metal used, the element was far different from anything he had ever seen. It definitely wasn’t on the periodic table, that was for sure. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any time for him to study it. 

Maybe he can snag something on their way out. Though, that would only be if things went bad. There was no way he was going to try and get a sample if things go well. That might ruin the entire plan. 

Steve kept walking next to the alien, shield tightly at hand. He was prepared for anything as he walked. Though, with the astonishment of how the ship looked, he wouldn’t be surprised if there was something around the corner. Wishful thinking states to hope things went easy. The soldier prayed to God that this went easy, though he feared that God wasn’t on that ship with him. He wasn’t sure what was in there.

“So… Alien woman…” Tony looked around a bit more before looking at the Chitauri. “You are promised death, so you help us… That really doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Death comes not here. Would rather promise.” She looked back to the engineer. “And name Chover. Not ‘alien woman.’” 

Tony blinked behind the mask, barely pausing in step. “You actually have a name?” He had a hard time believing in that one. With being an army so easily killed, it would have been thought they just had numbers or not even that.

He didn’t get a response from her, though, just a small growl like sound as she continued to walk forward. 

It was pretty easy for the start. The halls were clear. That made their steps in the quiet halls seem that much louder. No sound other than the clanking of their walking bounced around them. There wasn’t even the sound of machinery, which with a ship of such size would have been expected. It made the place seem as though it were abandoned, or an evil spirit was waiting to attack them at the perfect time.

They passed a few halls, but they were just as empty as the one that the four were in. 

It almost felt like it had been an hour before they heard a scream in the distance. It was high pitched, almost like metal being torn apart with the background of scratching a chalkboard. It was difficult to tell what it was. Chover slowed down a bit as she listened. “Wing beast.”

Steve glanced at her, not asking anything. There was nothing to ask. More than likely, he was about to see it. Without waiting, he carefully started to move forward. Tony told him to wait, but he needed to get a closer look. They were at a corner. If Chover told him to stop, he would. Once at the edge, he leaned farther out, looking to see where they were.

What he saw made his stomach drop; it was the room Loki had spoken about. It wasn’t exact, but close enough for the soldier to know that torture was done in there. A creature was tied to a table rather than the wall, but what he saw made it no different. There were things around the creature, claws violently ripping metal feathers out of the wings of the poor creature, pulling flesh as they did. Its six legs struggled against chains as a jagged, sharp tool was ran over what could only be guessed as its spine. Violet blood started to rivet down.

Before anymore was seen, Steve turned back and started to head to the group. He felt like he was going to be sick. Reading about it was one thing, But seeing it… “Do we have to go this way?”

The answer made the nausea worse. “No way round. Must go through here.” 

Tony looked at the captain and then stood up slowly from where he had been kneeling down as he waited. Looked like there was only one thing that they could do. “You three stay right here.” He started to move forward.

Bruce looked at the man, frowning with worry. He knew this would alert the other Chitauri, making their escape that much harder. He looked at the alien before hearing the blasts. The sound they had heard before, the screaming of the tortured creature, sounded again as well as the sound of the tormentors. Steve couldn’t see what Tony was doing, but he was glad that he didn’t have to go in there again, at least until the area was clear.

Alarms started to go off in the ship, loud, almost metal hitting metal like sound vibrating on the walls. Chover hummed as she slowly stood up, listening. “They come… Must hurry! Must release others!” She looked down at the Captain before reaching down to forcefully pull him up. “Move! Must release prisoners. Won’t get out alive if not!” She looked back again before getting the man to get going. She barely registered that Bruce was getting up to follow.

Steve couldn’t look up as they went into the room. The screams of the creature were gone by the time they walked in. There was only the sound of Tony walking over to one of the doors, to make sure it was secured as the two went into another hall. This one was a lot smoother than the rest of the ship. There were locks on all the doors, which, once the soldier calmed down enough to observe, he realized they were barred doors with something akin to bones. Inside, something was in there. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it had two pairs of arms. Other than the fact it looked pink, it looked like it might have blended into earth pretty well had it hid two of the arms. 

He looked forward after a few seconds to see how long the hall was. There were what looked like hundreds of doors going down, and as he looked up, he saw that there were maybe ten levels. “There is no way we can find Loki in here…” There were too many doors, too many rooms. How were they ever supposed to do anything?

“We’ll find him, don’t worry.” Bruce looked at Steve, looking around himself. He was feeling awed if not for the fact he knew what all of them went through there. He started to move ahead, seeing if any of the beings were hurt, or if there was anything he could do in the short time they were there.

Chover went over to the nearest door, speaking quickly and in a different language. The alien, the one with four arms, walked up, slamming fists against the bars. The being started to growl at her, sounding almost as though it was echoing. Despite speaking in two different languages, they understood one another. It made Steve feel a little intimidated. 

After some arguing, Chover motioned to the soldier, making the alien looked up at him. “Terra?” The alien tilted his head. “You are from Terra? I thought you all were too primitive to know of all this.” 

“Well, a bit ago we had some aliens drop down and heavily damage a small town in New Mexico.” Steve folded his arms. “Is she asking for your help, then?” Because they would need it. If she could get the others to work together…

The alien nodded. “Get this thing off me, and I will help. If we can get out of here, we would all help.” It leaned on the gate, glaring at the being in front of him. “So, let me out, and get this thing off.”

She moved as quickly as she could to get the door open, it being a little more difficult to work with her hands bound. But she did what she could, showing the soldier how to get the gates. As she did so, the com in Steve’s ear blared as Tony said that he was needing some back up soon.

They were running out of time.

Chover made the alien kneel, making it that Steve could see the process of getting the collars off. “There is organ on underside.” She moved her fingers under it, trying to feel it. “Must press it hard. Must make it feel. It doesn’t like to feel.” She pressed hard, and the thing started to actually scream before it let go of the being on the ground. It retracted into itself, making it that Chover could show what the organ looked like. “Different places. Hard to find for pain filled prisoners.” She set the thing down. “Must hurry.” She didn’t wait before moving out of the room, going to the next cell the get to another alien. 

Steve did the same. He didn’t have time to take anything in. He saw the four-armed alien moving to do the same. He went to a cell, one belonging to a woman who looked as though she were human. He didn’t have time to ask anything, so instead, he just told her that they were getting out of there and how to get the thing off her neck. As he worked on the door, she worked on the collar. She struggled with it, so once the door was opened, Steve walked in and helped get it off. 

These people may have been feeling a lot of pain, but they seemed to have a new bout of energy as they didn’t need any recovery time to get out once the door was opened and the collar was taken off. As more and more prisoners were gotten out, some started to head out the door.

Tony looked back, starting to get exhausted on power when he saw the first few aliens come out. He was freaked out, at first, thinking that he was about to get ambushed when they ran passed him. They headed straight into the Chitauri. The tormentors became overcome, the surprise of getting overrun not giving them enough time to react.

The engineer smiled, rushing to join Steve, Bruce, and Chover. He gave one last look at the alien that the Chitauri had been working on, glad that he could end some misery for the poor being. He rushed in, seeing the many doors. With a quick scan, he shot up to the next few levels. He overheard what some of the aliens were saying, seeing them get the doors open. With just that, he started to get to work on getting more doors open, doing the same thing that the others were doing; explaining what to do and helping them get out.

It was taking too long to get them all out of there. And then there was the fact that Loki had yet to be found.

Bruce was helping where he could. He didn’t do much about getting them out, but when one of the aliens came up, a wound needing mended, he did his best to fix it. Some of the beings needed more help than he could give in there, so he just told them to wait for the time. It was a good thing most of them were okay for the most part. But what bothered him was that he couldn’t see the one reason they were there. He was starting to get a sick feeling in his gut.

“The blue one?” The doctor jumped as one of the things, one that had claws and wore a hood, placed a hand on his shoulder. It hissed a bit in his ear. “You are looking for the blue one? The Failure?” 

Bruce felt his heart skip a beat as he turned to look at the thing. It was difficult to tell, but it looked like it was a dead person under the hood. “How do you know we are looking for someone? And… blue…?” Did they force him to look like his Jotun self?

The thing tilted its head before pointing to the third floor. “He started to pass out… They took him to wake him up. It was not long ago, he may still be okay.” 

“How did you know?” Bruce was about to get on the comms, to tell the others about this, but he needed to know how this thing found out.

It looked back at him. “Even Death needs him alive, still.” With that, it walked off, claws scratching into the walls as it went to take a few kills for itself.

The doctor stood there a moment, a little worried by that. There wasn’t a lot of time. No time to worry. “Tony, one of these guys said that Loki is on the third level. He was taken out of there after passing out.” He watched as he saw the engineer move. He wasn’t wasting time to find him.

Once the word was in, the man in the suit was moving to get the God back. He flew as fast as he could to get to the lab. If he was in there, then who knew what damage was done. Once at the destination, he landed, getting the suit open to reserve power to the main part. He made sure that the gauntlet remained on as he turned the corner. Two Chitauri were still in there. They sounded frantic as they talked to each other. Tony didn’t give them any seconds before he blasted the both of them. 

It didn’t seem like anything else was in there so he stepped forward, listening closely to make sure he wasn’t ganged up on as he walked forward. There didn’t seem to be anything there. Not even one of the prisoners…

A groan.

Tony rushed forward, seeing someone on the table. He knew who it was before he got to the head, even as he registered that the hand was blue. Not that it mattered. The engineer placed a hand on Loki’s ice cold cheek, making the God turn to him. Those markings looked really different from the drawing. They were more indented, which was odd. But he couldn’t question it. He didn’t want to.

“Come on Lokes. Wake up for me.” No response. Tony sighed and checked for damage. Other than being tied down, it seemed they didn’t have time to get to anything. Loki’s shirt was torn open, but it didn’t seem like they got farther than that. The tools nearby were very clean. It could be guessed they didn’t want to contaminate their little toys. One of them did worry him a little; it was more just a simple clip, but with the design, it looked similar to a jumper cable for car batteries. If they had electrocuted him, it could be harder to tell.

Tony walked back to the suit and got in. Once around him, he hurried to cut the bonds and turn the God over. Once the collar was off, the human lifted him up and walked out of the room to return to the other two Avengers. “I found Loki. He isn’t hurt, I think, but he is unconscious.” He looked down the balcony he was on. Steve was still in there helping get people out. Bruce wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Either he went into a different area, or he was in one of the rooms. While he was gone, it looked like some Chitauri made their way in to try and get some order going. With how many prisoners were out, that was a miserable fail. It was just like the story of Spartacus. Hopefully, the end of all this wouldn’t be like that revolt.

Steve looked up at him, seeing the God in his arms. At least, he was alive. He looked at Chover, who was still trying to do what she could to get the prisoners out of their cages. He rushed over, grabbing her shoulder. “We have to go. Now.” They had who they came for.

The alien looked at him, then Tony. Once she saw that Steve was in the right, she rushed over to one of the cells. She reached in and grabbed the doctor. There was no time. There were plenty of prisoners out and running around to keep the Chitauri busy for the time being. 

As she came out, Tony dropped down. Bruce was about to check Loki when he was pulled again. “No time. Go, go now!” Getting through the crowd was a lot harder than the Avengers liked. After just getting a few of the prisoners out, the numbers started to grow fast. They started to crowd through the halls, attacking anything that looked like the enemy. The small team had to be careful, as some tried to get at their guide. Steve had to throw a few punches in to make them back off.

Besides that, getting around the fighting was a challenge all on its own.

There had to be hundreds of Chitauri fighting, but with how it looked, there were enough captives that one was up against three others at most. It made the fight pretty much all one-sided, especially with the fact that most were so used to pain that any strike taken would be dull compared to what they had felt before. The army had not thought everything through, apparently.

Too long after they found Loki, they finally got back to the terminal with the warp machine in it. Chover started to press buttons, starting to get it powered up. “May need more. May need suit power.”

Tony groaned at that, shooting at Chitauri that were trying to prevent them from getting out of there. He didn’t have much power for the suit. If he used the rest for the machine, it meant he would have to leave it there. Well, his suit or their lives? Not a hard choice. He set Loki down to get out. This would give Bruce a small chance to check the other as Tony started to get wires out of the suit, trying to connect them to the machine’s power source. 

Steve got his gun out and started to shoot at any threat that came into view. He may not have a lot of ammo to spare, but it would give enough time for them to get going. If only there weren’t so many…

The shrill shriek caught the three men off guard. As Tony and Bruce were distracted, and Steve looking down one of the halls, none of them had noticed one alien getting too close and grabbing their guide. She was pulled away from them, more of her kind trying to take her away from the controls.

Steve was about to turn, to take them out when he saw Bruce get up and move forward. There were no words, no moment of hesitation. The doctor let his pulse rise quickly. It wasn’t that hard to do; they were in an adrenaline filled situation. The skin went green as the Hulk came out, letting out a yell before attacking the few that were trying to interfere. 

The soldier had been shocked by this. He wouldn’t have thought that Bruce would change so quickly. But then he remembered what they saw in the torture room. This place caused harm in an environment that Bruce would see as a hospital room. It was pretty much the complete opposite of his profession. Bruce wasn’t causing harm, he was preventing harm from being done. 

Chover got up once the hands of the others were off her. She scrambled up to her feet and got back to the controls. Tony looked up at her, seeing that she was shaking just a bit. He didn’t say anything as he finished messing with the wires. He stood, pointing his gauntlet that he still wore towards the hall Steve was focusing on. He helped with blasting the aliens away to give Chover just a bit more time to get them out of there. 

It took some time, but, finally, she looked back to the leader of the team. “Open!” 

Steve looked back, seeing the warehouse on the other side. He looked at the smaller man. “Tony, grab Loki and get the hell out of here!” He dropped his empty clip and put a new one in as he continued to give back up. “Chover, you go with him!”

Neither argued, the female all too enthusiastic about getting out of there. She tried to help get Loki up, her hands still bound. Once he was up, the two went through.

The medical team that was on stand-by rushed forward as they saw the first of the group run through. They placed Loki on a gurney to get him to the tower as quickly as possible. He was top priority. As the vehicle they put him in drove off, Steve ran through, gun aimed at the portal.

Fury walked forward, looking into it. From what he could see, there was a lot of activity. “Where is Dr. Banner?” He looked to Steve.

“Just give him a bit. Tony! You have an explosive device on that suit, right?” The Captain barely glanced back to look at the billionaire before shooting a stray Chitauri that had gotten passed the big green man. Hopefully, Hulk would have enough sense to notice they were gone…

Tony grabbed a gun from another agent just as the power in the gauntlet went out, hoping he wouldn’t have to use it. Unlike Steve, who was holding his gun professionally with two hands, he had it in one as he looked at his phone quickly. He didn’t like the idea of activating the reactor in the suit itself, but it should create an explosion strong enough to disrupt the machine as well as the pathway that it made to get to that spot. 

He looked up just in time to see another Chitauri go through. “Hulk! We need you to come through now!” As great as that big guy was, they couldn’t have him in the ship. 

Just as the team shot at the creature, the green man finally came through, slamming a fist into it. 

Once he was clear, Tony hit the button for the suit to detonate. It barely took a second before the suit went up in a mount of smoke and heated metal. The team had to shield themselves from the heat just as the portal forcibly shut down. 

Fury looked around quickly, checking his team that came out. Hulk seemed relatively calm, which was a good thing. That normally meant nothing triggered him but Bruce, giving the bigger being a sense of what was going on. Steve and Tony seemed unharmed, and the Chitauri only looked shaken. If anything, she was injured the most with a few scratches on her. “You all get back to the tower. Everyone else, get this place cleaned up and make sure there won’t be any hazards here.”

Tony looked at Steve for only a split moment before running off to get into one of the cars there. He needed to see Loki. He needed to make sure he was okay. In his small panic, he didn’t see everyone’s confused expressions, or the knowing one that Natasha gave before she got to work to help Jane and Erik get their project into a van.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for being patient with me on this. I have to say, I didn't expect it to be eight pages on my doc. Hope you enjoy this.


	21. A Spot of Worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Loki's rescue, Tony has time to worry and think.

Tony drove as fast as he could to the tower, trying to not break the law. It was difficult. He wanted to go over triple digits, but he didn’t want to risk causing an accident. Even still, the speed limit was too sluggish as his heart pumped with the anxiety of ‘what if’s. Just because there didn’t seem like there had been any damage, the Chitauri could have very well done something and it had been healed over. And then there was that device that looked like jumper cables to think about as well. Depending on composition of the body as well as the voltage used and where could mean the difference for effectivity of torture. For all they knew, it was used on a kidney or something similar that is filled with water, and in such a way that there would be no marks on the skin. 

Just the thought of that made the man add just a little bit of pressure to the accelerator. He needed to get to Loki.

Once in the tower’s garage, the man rushed up the stairs, not even bothering to turn off the car or get into the elevator. It would take too long, even with Jarvis being in control. He also needed time to get his nerves under control so that he wouldn’t just burst into the room with his thoughts going wild. He needed to see what all was happening with clear eyes before he did something that could be quite regrettable.

And boy was he happy he had take his time with the stairs. Once he walked into the room, he saw that the medical bay would be a panic attack waiting to happen. Even though the room was designed to be the complete opposite of what the Chitauri did, the room was still too similar. There were medical tools that could be mistaken easily as something used for torture, and it was so clean in there that the smell was sterile. Bright or not, that place was a trigger that the God could not afford, not when they just got him out of that mess.

The engineer took a deep breath to relax before he walked into the room itself. First things first; assess the damage on the physical body before taking care of the mental health. Priorities had to be set and this was the best place to check what was needed.

He walked over to one of the doctors there, hoping they were competent enough to have some information already. “I saw some instruments in the Chitauri ship that might not leave a mark. Have you or Jarvis found anything? Even internal?” His heart was hammering in his chest… What if they did get to him too late and they already hurt him?

The answer made the panic recede measurably. “Everything seems in order. We do have some information that there is nerve damage in his left hand, but we didn’t see anything to be worried about other than that bit.” The doctor looked up from his tablet once he was sure that was everything. “I am having another double check the notes to make sure. With him being an alien species, we didn’t want to overlook something in our ignorance.” 

Sometimes, doctors could be amazing people, especially when they were mostly in his pocket. Then they did have enough money to get the job done and done right. “Good.” Tony looked at Loki, an oxygen mask over his face to help get as much air into his system. “Are we able to move him?”

This made the man pause. “Move him?”

“I know, you have a job to do, but I know that if you don’t take him out of this room, he will have a panic attack. His mental health isn’t the best and this room is going to remind him of why that is. And trust me, I saw the room. I know how it will look to him.” 

The doctor looked at him for a moment, just trying to decide the best course of action to take with this. No good doctor wanted a patient too far away in case there was an emergency, but at the same time, they did need to take mental compacity into consideration. If something could cause a breakdown and the patient got hurt…

“Where would you suggest taking him…?”

Tony smiled. “We gave him a room here. Of course, only when we realized that he wasn’t the bigger threat, don’t worry.” He looked around, seeing the confused and just a bit surprised looks from some of the staff there. Patient, or not; Loki still had been seen as a criminal despite what he just went through. The engineer had forgotten about that some would not yet know the truth. “We needed to make him comfortable to talk about a threat.”

With a sigh, the man nodded in understanding. “I’ll have Jarvis help us find the location. In the meantime, clean up.” He smirked before walking away.

It took a moment for him to realize why that was said. Tony looked down at his body; there had been no time to clean up after the fight. Dirt and dust covered the skin, and there were a few cuts. There wasn’t anything major, but those could get infected if not treated. Then there was the fact a good sweat had been worked up in the fighting. The smell alone might have been bad in the sterol room.

A shower would be a good thing. And then there was food. Food sounded good to. Maybe breakfast. And sleep. Was it already morning? Yeah, the morning sun was already up.

Tony let out a groan before turning around to head to his room. How had the entire night passed by so fast? “Jarvis, let me know when Loki is relocated… And if he wakes up before I get there, make sure he doesn’t flip.” They didn’t need to have a freaked-out God.

“Of course, sir. I’d also like to let you know that the first part of the Avengers have come back. Natasha and Clint are still working with the rest of SHIELD to make sure the area is safe. Steve, Thor, and the Hulk have returned.”

The engineer started to get his clothes off once he was in his quarters, groaning at a pain in his back. He didn’t have blood, he knew that, so it must have been a hell of a bruise. So much was going on, something could have hit him at any time. “Alright. Keep me updated for anything important.” He slipped into the shower. A bit of an ache hit his back once the water hit the skin. Muscle relaxer would have to be used just to get some sleep. The pain was quite deep into the bones.

The shower had been a good call, none the less. Once fresh, relaxing clothes were on, the man started to head back to check on Loki. There really hadn’t been anything else to add about the others, and silence also stated that the Trickster was still unconscious. That was a good thing. After the pain, he would need the rest. If only rest was the only thing that was needed to be done.

Many prisoners escaped on the ship. It was doubtful that Thanos would look at such an event and think it something he could let go. If they could take down two ships in two different accounts, the Titan would more than likely want them destroyed. Now that the thought was there, they really had a fight on their hands. The question that remains is how are they going to fight this foe?

Aid could be invited in. The Avengers did have some allies to work with, like the X-Men. There was also that kid that kept swinging around. It wasn’t like the list was small on who could help them out. Loki could possibly give them just enough information that, together, a plan could be made. Just something to give the God some form of peace of mind while they wait for something to attack. After all, they had telepaths and people that nearly seemed like an indestructible force. They could give a few tips to bring the guy a run for his money.

And if he brought the army, then he had to fight an army. The Chitauri didn’t have anything special about them, in reality. They were like any other army on earth. Sure, they had large flying creatures and weapons that blast what could be pure energy, but they were still like humans. Having advanced would be quite the advantage. With the fact they only fought the small group, it was possible that the Chitauri would have no idea what they would be running into.

That thought made the engineer smile as he opened the door to Loki’s room. The cool air poured out of the room, the warmer temperature of the hall way trying to push its way in. The doctors had already gotten the God transferred in there. They even brought in a cardiac monitor as a precaution. Loki seemed quite at peace now that he was in an actual bed. 

Once the door was shut, Tony moved to sit on a chair just beside the bed. It was easier to relax in there, now. The God was safe and resting with minimal damage. They got to him in time, and that was a relief. The chances of that ever happening was slim. It was reassuring.

The small glee was broken as the phone vibrated. A quick look showed it was a message from Jarvis, him trying to not wake the being. _The other Avengers have made it back, and they haveChover with them._ There was even an image for clarification. Chover was being taken back towards the Breathless. It was more than likely a precaution. She has already done so much to help them that it was doubtful that she would turn on them. They promised her something her master wouldn’t give her. 

It was a shame, though. Sure, they all had reasons to not trust her, but when she had the chance, she chose them over her kind. She could have easily lead them into a trap. And yet, there she was, helping them completely. It just didn’t seem right to just kill her for what she did. Any of them could say she reacted out of very. That was what happened with Loki, after all. 

Maybe he could talk to the others, see about giving her a second chance at life. There were a lot of places that accepted outsides and taught them to live a normal life. Aliens weren’t exactly an anomaly anymore. So it would be easy to help Chover adjust and learn the customs of the planet Earth. For all they knew, she might adjust rather well if they gave her the chance.

Tony decided to send a text to Steve, asking if there was a possibility of letting the alien live. If anyone could see the logic, it was the Captain. Maybe Bruce once the green man went back to the small sized doctor. They watched her work with them rather than struggle. She was patient with the reluctance to let her go. She might have a chance to survive.

There was no response from the soldier, but that wasn’t exactly a surprise. There was still a lot of adrenaline from the events that had unfolded. A text might get ignored for a bit. Hopefully, not too long. For now, it was time to wait to see when the message was seen. 

The engineer leaned back, just letting his thoughts roam for a bit. Might as well use the time.

_So call up Professor Xavier and explain the situation if he hasn’t already figured it out. Ask to meet with him to discuss more about it. Get it set up to transfer Chover to the Fantastic Four. If anyone can hold an alien it is them. And I would rather Mr. One-Eyed- not have her right now. As annoying as he is, that mercenary might want to be called in. Better talk to Steve about him first. But a man like Reid would know how to get some good help in case of an alien attack… There has to be more we can talk to._

Trying to get everything straight in his head wasn’t exactly the longest thing to take up his time, but it was something. 

He had started to let his mind wonder a bit when he realized something the doctor had said. He got on his phone and messaged Jarvis. _What information did the doctor have for Loki?_ Not even he knew that Loki had nerve damage.

_Loki had finished his report on what Thanos did do him. Captain Rogers had asked that no one read it until Loki had been retrieved as it could have caused emotionally compromised actions._

Tony stared at the message, feeling a bit of anger rising in his throat. He couldn’t be mad at Steve. The man was doing what he could to make sure that the mission went well. But the engineer still felt like he should have known about the report. At least, that was how he felt.

It was more because of what him and Loki had just been about to talk about that was getting him. They were finally going to sit and talk about how they knew about each other and what they had done in the past. They had something. And it all got ruined by the Chitauri. He felt like he needed to know what those bastards did to him. 

But with some thought, it was a bit irrational to get upset at the Captain. With a sigh, Tony let himself relax. _Send the file to my phone. I want to read it later._ He wouldn’t read it right away. Not while Loki was right there.

He did have to feel bad to the soldier. He was going to rescue Loki knowing full well what could happen to him…

A groan kept that thought from continuing. Tony looked up at the Jotun, seeing that he was starting to come to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! I am so, so sorry for the wait. Unfortunately, I had a three week writers block from depression as well as prioritising looking for a job. (It hasn't been fun).
> 
> I thank you for patients and I hope the next one is out a hell of a lot sooner.


	22. Blue Isn't That Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki isn't doing too good when he see's that he no longer looks Asgardian.

Waking up wasn’t exactly what was expected. The pain was the more appropriate thought of what would be felt, but there was nothing. There was just a softness and cool air. There was no smell of acid or metal. It was… bitter, with a hint of sweetness. It didn’t seem right. Not with the last thing that he had seen. Those cold bars still haunted him. And the pain still ran through his system despite nothing being there. He was actually rather numb. 

It took a few seconds for him to get a bearing on his own body. It felt like everything was there. There were no new sources of pain. He didn’t understand it. There should have been painful cuts, burns, something. But there was nothing.

Finally, Loki opened his eyes. All that was seen was the ceiling, one not made of metal. Carefully, he sat up, looking at where he was. He was in a bed, his bed. He was in… his room in the tower. He tried to make sense of that before he heard a voice next to him. 

“Are you okay, Lokes?”

He nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned to the source of the voice. Why it took so long to realize that it was Tony sitting next to him was beyond him. Who else could it have been sitting there? Maybe Steve, or Thor, but who else? No Chitauri would have asked such a question, and Thanos would have simply forced him awake. It was safe to say, no one would be concerned like that other than one of the Avengers.

Still, it took a little bit to get all of his nerves to stop feeling as though they were a live wire. He took a deep breath, counting backwards to help. That was definitely something that he had been grateful to learn about. It helped. “I think… it will take some time before I say I am ‘okay’.” He closed his eyes.

His heart started to slow down in the silence. He was safe. He knew he was now. He wanted to ask how it was that Tony, or any of them, got to him in time, but decided that it didn’t really matter. He was sitting in his bed with the bitter smell of the plant leaving and letting a sweet calm remain in there with them. It was relaxing, to say the least. 

Loki moved to lean back against the wall, wanting to make himself more comfortable.

And then he saw his hand. 

He stared a moment before looking at both hands, seeing the blue skin covering his fingers. A fear suddenly gripped the Jotun as he quickly got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. He silently pleaded that it wasn’t gone, that he was just having a small hallucination. He didn’t want it to be true.

Once he got to the mirror, he let out a small whimper. He saw the blue skin, the deep markings across the surface, the deep, red eyes that filled sclera and irises but left the black pupils visible. He saw all the proof that the glamour that Odin had placed on him just before sending him to Midgard was gone, leaving him looking like the monster that he was born as. He shouldn’t have feared the look so much anymore. It was who he was. But he was there with the Avengers. Anthony Stark, the Man of Iron, was standing right in the next room.

They knew what he looked like from the drawing, but there was a difference between a drawing and actually seeing it. They would probably look at him and fear him once more.

Tony looked over at the bathroom door, concerned once more about the state that Loki was in. He didn’t understand what his freak out was about. Carefully, he stood up, heading to the room. He didn’t know why he would have thought that the Trickster would be at the toilet, but was relieved to see him in the mirror, instead. Still… He didn’t look too good. “What’s wrong…?” He stepped in, reaching over to put a comforting hand on the other’s arm.

The sudden jerk made the man step back. He hadn’t expected the other to react so defensively with just a touch. He had been so calm before he looked at his hands-

Oh.

Tony stared at Loki as the being turned away, hiding the blue skin and red eyes, the markings that for his entire life was the signs of a monster. Despite them all knowing what he looked like, him actually being in this form was terrifying for him. So, of course, he was going to react like this, react with such fear.

“Loki…” He took a step forward, placing his hand on the other’s should as lightly as he could. “Look at me.” He moved a little closer. He didn’t like how the God was shaking. “Trust me, okay? Just look at me.”

They were still for a few seconds; one full of worry, the other full of fright. It took a small squeeze from the hand before Loki finally turned around. He kept his eyes hooded with his dark hair. 

“You aren’t looking at me.” Tony reached up, lifting the beings chin so that their gazes would meet. “There you are. Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” He smiled lightly. “You know, that drawing you did really didn’t do justice. That blue is a lot better looking than what I saw.” He looked at the red orbs, thinking of bright red droplets of blood. He could see how those would be mistaken for monsters, though it would have been worse if they glowed. He didn’t see that happening, though.

Loki watched him for a time, just waiting for the man to look horrified. But he didn’t. He just stood there with his hand on his shoulder, looking at him straight on, as though nothing was different about him. It almost felt like the human didn’t see the Jotun, just the green-eyed form. 

“Shouldn’t… Why aren’t you scared of me? How aren’t you repulsed or… I don’t know… I…” He looked away again, not sure how to express his bewilderment on the situation. He was sure he would be feared from what he looked like alone.

Tony just shrugged. “Hey, Jarvis, get me a few images of Homo superiors that have different skin tones from Homo sapiens. Send them to my phone.” After he got the confirmation that it would be done, he carefully started to lead the blue man back into the bedroom. He made sure that his hand was on the other’s lower back, just to not startle him again. “I don’t think you are all that terrifying. I think the most terrifying thing for me was sending a rocket up into a void of space with no guarantee that I was actually coming back. Now that… that is terrifying…” He shuttered at the memory. He still could feel the cold hand of death reaching out for him.

Loki stared at him for a second before he sat on the bed. He almost felt like he needed a second chair in there with how often he got company. He could understand that fear, though he had not expected to be saved. Falling into the darkness had been something he hoped would end him. Still, now it was a terror after what pulled him out of it.

He stared at his hands until he heard the chime of Jarvis. He was a computer. Of course, the information would be there quickly.

Tony pulled out his phone and set up a hologram so that the images would come out in 3D rather than on the screen itself. The first image was a young man. With the description that came with, he was fairly tall and quite flexible. The engineer could see that the God was not focusing on that, though: The man that was shown was blue, just like him. He had two fingers and a thumb on each hand and two toes. The tail in the hologram moved as it normally would, showing that it was just as flexible. 

After a moment, the image changed to a woman who used to be a police officer. She looked pretty human other than the fact her skin was green as was her hair. She also had deadly claws. If Loki had paid attention, the information would have said about a poisonous gas around her. 

Another blue woman appeared after that. Her hair was red, and eyes as yellow as the first man. Unlike the previous two, she wasn’t wearing anything, so her skin was completely exposed. She had a scaled look to her, quite gorgeous. Shame she was a criminal. Her shapeshifting abilities were quite a phenomenon.

As the next person came up, a purple colored man, Tony smiled to Loki, who was still staring at the images. “We have a lot of people called mutants, or Homo superior if we are wanting to get scientific. There are a good number of them that aren’t the same color as me or Thor. A lot of them… Well, a lot of them are blue.” Almost on cue, another blue being came into view, this one being very hairy

The God was silent as he looked in awe. “You… Don’t fear me because you have others that are similar?” He finally tore his eyes away to look at the human, who just shrugged. “And is it just the skin? Or… are they closer to what I am like?”

With a hum, the engineer thought of the best way to put it. “I guess you can say it, but at the same time, you can’t. They tend to only have one or two abilities, not much more than that. If they can do more, they are a bit terrifying.” He looked at the wall. “There are a few who are fast, some that can teleport, oh, there is this one girl who can walk through walls. I always thought her power was cool.” He chuckled a bit before he looked back at Loki.

He seemed to be calming down from the scare. “I won’t lie, humans were scared of them for a really long time. But… When you don’t understand something, you tend to fear it. If it is different, you fear it…” He paused as he looked into those red eyes. “We feared your brother. We only dealt with him and a few others, and you know what we tried to do to prepare ourselves for another invasion… that was out of fear, too.”

Loki tilted his head. It seemed he was trying to contemplate that. “No one feared Steve…”

Tony barked out a small laugh. “He didn’t really change. He just has a hell of a lot of stamina and more strength than normal people.” He sobered up a bit. “But people feared Bruce. It is… getting better, but there is still the stigma because an accident could cause him to shift.” He reached over, carefully taking the God’s hand. There was a flinch, but at least he didn’t pull away again. “You should be okay, though. Some will fear you, but they will probably look at you as a mutant more than an alien or a war criminal.” Though, many would probably not even recognize him there in New York.

Loki was silent for a few seconds, looking down at their hands. He still felt disgusted with how his hand looked, the blue skin and dark markings. But… Not being feared by Tony… He felt relieved that the other didn’t shy away from him, or feel like he was a threat, just because he looked different or had a different ancestry that was seen as dangerous. 

A small smile tugged at the edge of his lips. It vanished quickly after. “What about the others?” Tony… Was an enigma at times. He was able to look at things and accept them fairly quick. Only times there was difficulty was if it was against his own beliefs or constitution. But the others were not him. 

But he also knew his fellow Avengers. He would know how they would react to his blue image. Though, the God had a feeling he knew how Thor would react. They had grown up together with the same teachings. Unless him being on Midgard had changed him that much, Thor might still be prejudice against Jotuns and being in the form of one could cause issues between the brothers once more. Loki didn’t think he could handle getting rejected like that again. Not from Thor.

Tony just shrugged. “I can’t say for sure. Steve seemed pretty alright while we were in there for you. And Bruce was right at your side when he had a chance to check on you. Overall, though, you need to see for yourself.” He smiled lightly, trying to coax one out of the other. Man, he seemed so much like a child with how nervous he was with what he appeared. 

The thought of leaving the room made Loki feel sick. If they saw him like this, he really did fear for his life. Even with knowing that the humans were okay with their mutant counterparts, the fact remained that he wasn’t a mutant. Everyone knew he was an alien being. The chances of him being treated as an equal, especially after what he had done, was less likely now than had his glamour remained on.

He shifted uncomfortably, looking back at the hands. After a few seconds of silence, he stood up and went to the closet. He felt like he needed a shower. He needed to get the feeling of that place off of him. Besides that, he felt like his neck had some crust on it from his blood. He wouldn’t be surprised with having that thing in his neck once more.

He grabbed some clothes, a simple outfit of pants and a shirt. He also grabbed a black hoodie that he saw folded in there. Once everything was in hand, he went into the bathroom without another word to the engineer. 

Not that Tony minded too much. He knew that Loki needed some time to recover as well as prepare himself. He couldn’t stay in that room forever. And the human really wanted to get him out of there, to let him see that what he was wasn’t so bad. Tony really doubted that the others would make a huge deal out of all this. There had been weirder situations than a blue alien. He had seen files about Red Skull and that whole cult group. Learning about them became mandatory when the Tesseract was taken. The engineer needed to discover what was so important about it that a God was wanting it. And the Skull was weird enough that a Jotun was nothing. 

Loki had been around a long time. Red skull was the first super soldier from the Second World War. Seriously, aliens had been a curiosity since before the idea of making soldiers in a lab was actually thought possible. Then there was the fact the aliens in question were the Norse Gods. They had been around longer than the thought of aliens! And besides that, they were around before alien was used to represent a person being from a foreign country. That was a hell of a long time ago. Most people have trouble coping with finding out they were just adopted with a few decades!

Tony leaned back in the chair as he heard the water starting to run and then listened to the change as the other got under it. A few decades… It would probably take that long just for the Trickster to actually accept what he was and that he was nothing like what the stories told. After all, if he was truly a monster, he would have willingly helped Thanos. There wouldn’t have been any manipulation needed. 

It was at that thought that Tony remembered he had Jarvis send in a file for him to read. Since Loki would be in the shower for a bit, he opened the file up to read, feeling sick as he did so.

And he had been right on it taking a while. Loki had stood in the shower, just letting the warmth surround him. It helped make him feel more relaxed as he let his thoughts wander, about Tony’s acceptance as well as why he didn’t fear the blue-skinned version of him. It was… extraordinary, really, only because it was different for him in Asgard.

While it would have been nice to just stand there all day, though, the God knew he had to step out eventually. With a sigh, his thoughts not yet settled nor satisfying, he turned the water off. There was barely a shutter as the curtain was opened and cool air flooded the shower. He started to dry off quickly, doing what he could to avoid looking into the mirror. It was hard for him able to use his peripheral and see the blue, still. 

Once he was dressed, he placed the hood over his head and walked out. He wasn’t greeted by the charismatic man that he had been talking to as he thought he would have, though. Instead, he noticed a bit of a shake in the smaller man’s shoulders. “Tony?” Was he crying?

Tony didn’t look up. He was staring at his phone, anger building so much. “No wonder you are scared of Thanos…” He stood up, placing the device in his pocket. He had finished the report, but he needed to reread it one more time. Then there was the shock that he went through. The engineer had been tortured, but that was nothing like what the other had gone through. “God, Loki…” He looked at the other, the anger not completely going away, but feeling so much sorrow for what had happened. He moved forward, hugging the taller man tightly.

Despite it being awkward to Loki, he hugged Tony back, a little confused about what he was talking about. It took him a bit to realize what was being brought up. Still, he said nothing. A hug, for the time, would suffice for the situation. 

“We should probably go…” The thoughts of what happened was something Loki didn’t want to linger on. Instead, he just wanted to go, deal with something else. Besides, he was hungry, and he was sure that no one would let him eat in the bedroom again. 

Tony pulled away, smiling. “Yeah. No time to dwell on that stuff. Everyone will want to see you. Especially your brother.” He started to lead Loki out. “If not for Steve, I think Thor would have used the hammer to knock some heads off, and not metaphorically.”

“It would not be the first time…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I apologize about not posting... I am still struggling. But I will get there. I found some music to help with my creative block and will try to write more often. I am also still looking for a job.
> 
> For those who have never experienced not having a schedule... you tend to lose track of days quickly, and it sucks. I can't believe that it is Christmas Eve, already. It feels like just a few days ago that I turned 24... And It was actually a few weeks ago...


End file.
